Reviewed by USGSJapan102y ago
M6.0 earthquake 70 km WSW of Niseko Town, Japan
Thursday, February 4, 1926, 06:44:11 UTC · 42.531°N, 139.872°E
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck 70 km WSW of Niseko Town, Japan on Thursday, February 4, 1926, 06:44:11 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.7 on December 8, 1922.
- Magnitude
- 6.0
- Strong · 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
16 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 34 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
87 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Okhotsk and Amur plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
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 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:
- 7.5Near the east coast of Honshu, JapanAugust 9, 1901 · 295 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.830 km ESE of Tomakomai, JapanFebruary 20, 1913 · 170 km E of this epicenter
- 6.745 km E of Mutsu, JapanDecember 8, 1922 · 213 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.692 km WSW of Kamiiso, JapanMarch 3, 1921 · 117 km S of this epicenter
- 6.624 km S of Shizunai-furukawachō, JapanSeptember 16, 1909 · 210 km E of this epicenter
- 6.5130 km SSE of Shizunai-furukawachō, JapanMay 15, 1922 · 290 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.484 km NW of Noshiro, JapanOctober 11, 1919 · 210 km S of this epicenter
- 6.225 km WSW of Muroran, JapanJune 8, 1912 · 77 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 14 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,053 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1766M6.9
Hirosaki
8 Mar 1766 · 194 km away
1,700 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1896
Senhoku, Ugo
31 Aug 1896 · 297 km away
206 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1810M6.6
Oga
25 Sep 1810 · 293 km away
59 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1704
N Of Nosiro
27 May 1704 · 173 km away
58 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1901M8.2
Off Northeast Coast Honshu
9 Aug 1901 · 295 km away
18 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1793M6.9
Aomori
8 Feb 1793 · 187 km away
12 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.