Reviewed by USGSJapan89y ago
M6.5 earthquake 100 km ESE of Iwaki, Japan
Saturday, December 3, 1938, 12:11:42 UTC · 36.823°N, 141.978°E
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck 100 km ESE of Iwaki, Japan on Saturday, December 3, 1938, 12:11:42 UTC, at a depth of 25.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.0 on November 30, 1938.
- Magnitude
- 6.5
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 25 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 100 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
71 kilotons of TNT
That is about 5 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 150 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
99 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Pacific and Okhotsk plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
25 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 100 km
USGS lists 5 M2.5+ earthquakes within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.9 on December 9, 1938. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 5.859 km E of Iwaki, Japan89y ago · 45 km NW of this epicenter
- 5.786 km ESE of Iwaki, Japan89y ago · 23 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.9142 km ESE of Iwaki, Japan89y ago · 42 km E of this epicenter
- 5.859 km E of Iwaki, Japan89y ago · 49 km NW of this epicenter
- 5.877 km E of Iwaki, Japan89y ago · 35 km NW of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 194 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.05 km SSE of Ōiso, JapanSeptember 1, 1923 · 293 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.85 km E of Tateyama, JapanSeptember 2, 1923 · 275 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.8105 km E of Iwaki, JapanNovember 5, 1938 · 18 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.7116 km E of Namie, JapanNovember 6, 1938 · 69 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.769 km ESE of Kitaibaraki, JapanMay 23, 1938 · 56 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.7116 km ESE of Namie, JapanNovember 5, 1938 · 43 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.7217 km ESE of Kamaishi, JapanJuly 6, 1905 · 259 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.6119 km SE of Kamaishi, JapanNovember 1, 1915 · 223 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 46 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 120,480 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1923M7.9
Tokyo, Yokohama
1 Sep 1923 · 294 km away
105,385 deaths$600 million damagetsunami
- 1855M7.0
Tokyo
11 Nov 1855 · 235 km away
6,757 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1703M8.2
Off Sw Boso Peninsula
30 Dec 1703 · 270 km away
5,233 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1828
Sandyo In Etigo
18 Dec 1828 · 232 km away
1,443 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1793M8.3
Sanriku,Rikuzen,Rikuchu
17 Feb 1793 · 258 km away
745 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1894M7.0
Syonai
22 Oct 1894 · 300 km away
726 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.