Reviewed by USGSJapan89y ago
M7.6 earthquake 78 km S of Naze, Japan
Thursday, June 16, 1938, 02:15:18 UTC · 27.659°N, 129.476°E
A magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck 78 km S of Naze, Japan on Thursday, June 16, 1938, 02:15:18 UTC, at a depth of 20.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.9 on June 15, 1911.
- Magnitude
- 7.6
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 20 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VII
- Very strong (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
3.8 megatons of TNT
That is about 252 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 7,943 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
87 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Okinawa and Philippine Sea plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
20 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 200 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 58 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.9108 km NW of Naze, JapanJune 15, 1911 · 177 km N of this epicenter
- 7.2Ryukyu Islands, JapanJune 24, 1901 · 64 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.2101 km NE of Naze, JapanNovember 5, 1923 · 163 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.0152 km NW of Uken, JapanJuly 4, 1914 · 221 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.012 km SE of Ginowan, JapanFebruary 23, 1911 · 230 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.093 km NNE of Naze, JapanNovember 3, 1923 · 167 km N of this epicenter
- 7.070 km WNW of Naha, JapanApril 23, 1923 · 281 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.8148 km SE of Katsuren-haebaru, JapanAugust 12, 1923 · 245 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 8 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 12 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1911M8.0
Ryukyu Islands
15 Jun 1911 · 64 km away
12 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1901M7.9
Ryukyu Islands
24 Jun 1901 · 90 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1768M6.5
Ryukyu Islands
22 Jul 1768 · 254 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1916M8.0
Duda
1 Feb 1916 · 285 km away
- 1904M7.9
Kyushu
24 Aug 1904 · 265 km away
- 1926M7.5
Ryukyu Islands
29 Jun 1926 · 255 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.