Reviewed by USGSJapan92y ago
M5.7 earthquake 130 km NE of Miyako, Japan
Saturday, October 12, 1935, 17:00:32 UTC · 40.383°N, 143.128°E
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck 130 km NE of Miyako, Japan on Saturday, October 12, 1935, 17:00:32 UTC, at a depth of 20.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.1 on October 12, 1935.
- Magnitude
- 5.7
- Moderate · mw
- Depth
- 20 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: 75 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
6 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/2 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 13 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
103 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
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 75 km
USGS lists 4 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.5 on October 18, 1935. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 149 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 · 181 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.978 km E of Hachinohe, JapanMarch 9, 1931 · 64 km W of this epicenter
- 7.7277 km SSE of Kushiro, JapanMay 3, 1919 · 213 km E of this epicenter
- 7.7217 km ESE of Kamaishi, JapanJuly 6, 1905 · 235 km S of this epicenter
- 7.6119 km SE of Kamaishi, JapanNovember 1, 1915 · 192 km S of this epicenter
- 7.5Near the east coast of Honshu, JapanAugust 9, 1901 · 74 km W of this epicenter
- 7.379 km ENE of Miyako, JapanMay 27, 1928 · 62 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.3110 km ESE of Ishinomaki, JapanJune 18, 1933 · 262 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 39 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 32,955 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1896M8.3
Sanriku
15 Jun 1896 · 123 km away
27,122 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1933M8.4
Sanriku
2 Mar 1933 · 181 km away
3,022 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1766M6.9
Hirosaki
8 Mar 1766 · 213 km away
1,700 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1793M8.3
Sanriku,Rikuzen,Rikuchu
17 Feb 1793 · 222 km away
745 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1896
Senhoku, Ugo
31 Aug 1896 · 186 km away
206 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1810M6.6
Oga
25 Sep 1810 · 280 km away
59 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.