Reviewed by USGSJapan105y ago
M6.7 earthquake 45 km E of Mutsu, Japan
Friday, December 8, 1922, 22:33:17 UTC · 41.225°N, 141.749°E
A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck 45 km E of Mutsu, Japan on Friday, December 8, 1922, 22:33:17 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.1 on July 29, 1917.
- Magnitude
- 6.7
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 15 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
153 kilotons of TNT
That is about 10 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 320 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
230 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Pacific and Okhotsk plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
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 34 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 · 84 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.2Near the east coast of Honshu, JapanAugust 9, 1901 · 102 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.1123 km SE of Honchō, JapanJuly 29, 1917 · 167 km E of this epicenter
- 7.013 km ESE of Yokote, JapanMarch 14, 1914 · 234 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.0Near the east coast of Honshu, JapanJune 15, 1901 · 269 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.0Northern Honshu, JapanMay 11, 1900 · 286 km S of this epicenter
- 7.0114 km E of Miyako, JapanOctober 11, 1913 · 199 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.9148 km E of Yamada, JapanMarch 15, 1917 · 253 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 28 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 29,745 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1896M8.3
Sanriku
15 Jun 1896 · 270 km away
27,122 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1766M6.9
Hirosaki
8 Mar 1766 · 95 km away
1,700 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1804M7.3
Kisakata
10 Jul 1804 · 286 km away
450 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1896
Senhoku, Ugo
31 Aug 1896 · 150 km away
206 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1914M7.2
Senhoku
15 Mar 1914 · 279 km away
94 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1810M6.6
Oga
25 Sep 1810 · 215 km away
59 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.