Reviewed by USGSJapan108y ago
M6.4 earthquake 84 km NW of Noshiro, Japan
Saturday, October 11, 1919, 13:17:32 UTC · 40.696°N, 139.269°E
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck 84 km NW of Noshiro, Japan on Saturday, October 11, 1919, 13:17:32 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.0 on March 14, 1914.
- Magnitude
- 6.4
- 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
62 kilotons of TNT
That is about 4 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 130 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
44 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 6 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 · 256 km E of this epicenter
- 7.2Near the east coast of Honshu, JapanAugust 9, 1901 · 274 km E of this epicenter
- 7.013 km ESE of Yokote, JapanMarch 14, 1914 · 199 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.0Northern Honshu, JapanMay 11, 1900 · 272 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.225 km WSW of Muroran, JapanJune 8, 1912 · 207 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.084 km W of Noshiro, JapanAugust 5, 1907 · 46 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 18 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 3,408 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1766M6.9
Hirosaki
8 Mar 1766 · 123 km away
1,700 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1894M7.0
Syonai
22 Oct 1894 · 205 km away
726 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1804M7.3
Kisakata
10 Jul 1804 · 192 km away
450 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1896
Senhoku, Ugo
31 Aug 1896 · 166 km away
206 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1914M7.2
Senhoku
15 Mar 1914 · 172 km away
94 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1833M7.4
Honshu: Nw
7 Dec 1833 · 200 km away
85 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.