Reviewed by USGSJapan100y ago
M5.9 earthquake 142 km SE of Ōhara, Japan
Friday, August 19, 1927, 23:16:55 UTC · 34.511°N, 141.672°E
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 142 km SE of Ōhara, Japan on Friday, August 19, 1927, 23:16:55 UTC, at a depth of 20.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.0 on August 18, 1927.
- Magnitude
- 5.9
- 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
10 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/2 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 20 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
24 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Okhotsk and Philippine Sea plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
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 August 23, 1927. 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 57 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.05 km SSE of Ōiso, JapanSeptember 1, 1923 · 229 km W of this epicenter
- 7.85 km E of Tateyama, JapanSeptember 2, 1923 · 168 km W of this epicenter
- 7.3190 km SE of Hasaki, JapanSeptember 7, 1906 · 84 km E of this epicenter
- 7.264 km ENE of Hasaki, JapanJune 1, 1923 · 159 km N of this epicenter
- 7.238 km SSW of Shimoda, JapanOctober 24, 1905 · 260 km W of this epicenter
- 7.167 km ENE of Kashima-shi, JapanAugust 14, 1924 · 190 km N of this epicenter
- 7.1150 km ESE of Hasaki, JapanMarch 13, 1909 · 106 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.082 km ENE of Hasaki, JapanMarch 12, 1909 · 154 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 17 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 117,492 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1923M7.9
Tokyo, Yokohama
1 Sep 1923 · 209 km away
105,385 deaths$600 million damagetsunami
- 1855M7.0
Tokyo
11 Nov 1855 · 212 km away
6,757 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1703M8.2
Off Sw Boso Peninsula
30 Dec 1703 · 162 km away
5,233 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1853
Odawara
11 Mar 1853 · 226 km away
79 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1894M7.5
Tokyo
20 Jun 1894 · 208 km away
24 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
- 1924
Sagami
15 Jan 1924 · 226 km away
14 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.