QuakeScout
Magnitude7.9

Reviewed by USGSJapan96y ago

M7.9 earthquake 58 km ESE of Takanabe, Japan

Monday, November 2, 1931, 10:03:04 UTC · 31.884°N, 132.043°E

A magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck 58 km ESE of Takanabe, Japan on Monday, November 2, 1931, 10:03:04 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.

Magnitude
7.9
Major · mw
Depth
35 km
Shallow
Felt reports
0
Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking
VI
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

12 megatons of TNT

That is about 786 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 24,831 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

32 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Amur and Okinawa plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.

Depth: shallow

35 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 26 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.518 km SE of Honmachi, JapanNovember 10, 1909 · 135 km NW of this epicenter
  2. 7.4152 km ESE of Koshima, JapanFebruary 1, 1916 · 264 km S of this epicenter
  3. 7.422 km N of Nishinoomote, JapanJuly 13, 1923 · 143 km SW of this epicenter
  4. 7.229 km ESE of Takanabe, JapanApril 13, 1913 · 29 km NW of this epicenter
  5. 7.161 km ESE of Nishinoomote, JapanAugust 24, 1904 · 164 km S of this epicenter
  6. 6.931 km SSW of Hikari, JapanJune 2, 1905 · 205 km N of this epicenter
  7. 6.931 km ESE of Miyazaki, JapanMay 21, 1929 · 29 km W of this epicenter
  8. 6.88 km NNE of Kajiki, JapanJanuary 12, 1914 · 128 km W of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 18 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 20,152 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1792M6.4

    Kyusyu Island

    21 May 1792 · 193 km away

    15,030 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami

  2. 1707M8.4

    Nankaido

    28 Oct 1707 · 297 km away

    5,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami

  3. 1914M7.1

    Sakurijima

    12 Jan 1914 · 134 km away

    63 deaths$19 million damagetsunami

  4. 1922

    Kyushu

    7 Dec 1922 · 187 km away

    27 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)

  5. 1889M6.3

    Kumamoto

    28 Jul 1889 · 162 km away

    20 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)

  6. 1905M7.8

    Aki

    2 Jun 1905 · 235 km away

    11 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers

Closest city pages