Reviewed by USGSJapan91y ago
M5.8 earthquake 74 km SE of Ishinomaki, Japan
Saturday, November 21, 1936, 21:48:01 UTC · 37.966°N, 141.930°E
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck 74 km SE of Ishinomaki, Japan on Saturday, November 21, 1936, 21:48:01 UTC, at a depth of 25.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.3 on November 2, 1936.
- Magnitude
- 5.8
- Moderate · 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 earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
7 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/2 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 14 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
167 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Pacific and Okhotsk plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
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 75 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 166 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.41933 Sanriku (Sanriku-oki) Earthquake, JapanMarch 2, 1933 · 269 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.978 km E of Hachinohe, JapanMarch 9, 1931 · 295 km N of this epicenter
- 7.7217 km ESE of Kamaishi, JapanJuly 6, 1905 · 198 km E of this epicenter
- 7.6119 km SE of Kamaishi, JapanNovember 1, 1915 · 121 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.5Near the east coast of Honshu, JapanAugust 9, 1901 · 295 km N of this epicenter
- 7.379 km ENE of Miyako, JapanMay 27, 1928 · 226 km N of this epicenter
- 7.3110 km ESE of Ishinomaki, JapanJune 18, 1933 · 50 km E of this epicenter
- 7.383 km E of Ishinomaki, JapanNovember 2, 1936 · 44 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 40 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 34,027 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1896M8.3
Sanriku
15 Jun 1896 · 248 km away
27,122 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1933M8.4
Sanriku
2 Mar 1933 · 269 km away
3,022 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1828
Sandyo In Etigo
18 Dec 1828 · 220 km away
1,443 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1793M8.3
Sanriku,Rikuzen,Rikuchu
17 Feb 1793 · 190 km away
745 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1894M7.0
Syonai
22 Oct 1894 · 213 km away
726 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1804M7.3
Kisakata
10 Jul 1804 · 210 km away
450 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.