Reviewed by USGSJapan100y ago
M5.8 earthquake 31 km ESE of Kushiro, Japan
Tuesday, October 11, 1927, 17:30:20 UTC · 42.838°N, 144.716°E
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck 31 km ESE of Kushiro, Japan on Tuesday, October 11, 1927, 17:30:20 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.3 on September 30, 1927.
- Magnitude
- 5.8
- Moderate · 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
9 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/2 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 18 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
141 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Okhotsk and Pacific plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
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 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 47 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.7277 km SSE of Kushiro, JapanMay 3, 1919 · 254 km S of this epicenter
- 7.1123 km SE of Honchō, JapanJuly 29, 1917 · 198 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.1Off the coast of Hokkaido, JapanDecember 25, 1900 · 106 km E of this epicenter
- 7.0Kuril IslandsNovember 24, 1900 · 276 km E of this epicenter
- 6.948 km SW of Shikotan, RussiaDecember 28, 1924 · 147 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.949 km E of Nemuro, JapanOctober 13, 1911 · 134 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.830 km ESE of Tomakomai, JapanFebruary 20, 1913 · 229 km W of this epicenter
- 6.8125 km ESE of Shikotan, RussiaFebruary 2, 1925 · 296 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 16 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 72 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1843M8.4
Hokkaido: Yezo, Kushiro, Nemuro
25 Apr 1843 · 141 km away
45 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1856M8.0
Oshima
23 Aug 1856 · 279 km away · intensity V
26 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1894M7.9
Off Coast Of Honshu
22 Mar 1894 · 112 km away · intensity IX
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1763M7.8
N. Sanriku, Japan
11 Mar 1763 · 275 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1763M7.4
Sanriku,Mutsu
29 Jan 1763 · 279 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1904M7.6
Hokkaido
18 Mar 1904 · 96 km away · intensity X
Limited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.