Reviewed by USGSJapan96y ago
M5.9 earthquake 83 km NNE of Nayoro, Japan
Sunday, January 31, 1932, 19:45:29 UTC · 45.060°N, 142.787°E
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 83 km NNE of Nayoro, Japan on Sunday, January 31, 1932, 19:45:29 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.0 on July 11, 1927.
- Magnitude
- 5.9
- Moderate · mw
- Depth
- 15 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
10 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 22 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
273 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Okhotsk and Amur plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
15 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 10 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.322 km ESE of Makubetsu, JapanSeptember 1, 1905 · 61 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.079 km S of Korsakov, RussiaSeptember 6, 1911 · 96 km N of this epicenter
- 6.830 km ESE of Tomakomai, JapanFebruary 20, 1913 · 290 km S of this epicenter
- 6.67 km SW of Kitami, JapanJuly 5, 1907 · 166 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.093 km WNW of Rumoi, JapanSeptember 8, 1910 · 199 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.017 km ESE of Asahikawa, JapanJuly 11, 1927 · 152 km S of this epicenter
- 5.831 km ESE of Kushiro, JapanOctober 11, 1927 · 291 km SE of this epicenter
- 5.842 km ESE of Kushiro, JapanJune 6, 1926 · 295 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 4 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1792M6.9
W. Hokkaido Island
13 Jun 1792 · 246 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1834M6.4
W. Hokkaido Island, Japan
9 Feb 1834 · 225 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1905M7.5
Hokkaido
1 Sep 1905 · 18 km away
- 1863M6.4
Nw. Hokkaido Island, Japan
20 Sep 1863 · 114 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.