Reviewed by USGSJapan region98y ago
M6.2 earthquake in Volcano Islands, Japan region
Saturday, March 9, 1929, 02:11:51 UTC · 24.826°N, 142.946°E
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck in Volcano Islands, Japan region on Saturday, March 9, 1929, 02:11:51 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.9 on November 24, 1914.
- Magnitude
- 6.2
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 35 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
31 kilotons of TNT
That is about 2 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 65 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
18 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Philippine Sea and Pacific 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 100 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 12 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.9Volcano Islands, Japan regionNovember 24, 1914 · 286 km S of this epicenter
- 7.1Volcano Islands, Japan regionMarch 23, 1913 · 296 km S of this epicenter
- 6.8Volcano Islands, Japan regionMay 11, 1905 · 133 km N of this epicenter
- 6.6Bonin Islands, Japan regionJuly 12, 1913 · 215 km N of this epicenter
- 6.4Bonin Islands, Japan regionAugust 15, 1913 · 227 km N of this epicenter
- 6.3Bonin Islands, Japan regionJune 26, 1907 · 277 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.2Bonin Islands, Japan regionApril 25, 1924 · 197 km N of this epicenter
- 6.0Volcano Islands, Japan regionJanuary 12, 1920 · 214 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 2 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1826
Bonin Islands [Chichijima Island]
Jan 1826 · 260 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1872
Bonin Islands [Chichijima Island]
1872 · 260 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.