Reviewed by USGSJapan111y ago
M6.7 earthquake 136 km SSE of Katsuura, Japan
Friday, September 15, 1916, 07:01:10 UTC · 33.990°N, 140.837°E
A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck 136 km SSE of Katsuura, Japan on Friday, September 15, 1916, 07:01:10 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.0 on April 21, 1916.
- Magnitude
- 6.7
- Strong · 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
142 kilotons of TNT
That is about 9 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 299 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
32 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North American and African plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
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 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 13 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.450 km SSW of Ōyama, JapanJanuary 21, 1906 · 260 km W of this epicenter
- 7.3190 km SE of Hasaki, JapanSeptember 7, 1906 · 178 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.238 km SSW of Shimoda, JapanOctober 24, 1905 · 187 km W of this epicenter
- 7.1150 km ESE of Hasaki, JapanMarch 13, 1909 · 201 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.082 km ENE of Hasaki, JapanMarch 12, 1909 · 227 km N of this epicenter
- 7.0208 km SE of Katsuura, JapanApril 21, 1916 · 91 km E of this epicenter
- 7.0139 km S of Ōyama, JapanOctober 8, 1915 · 268 km W of this epicenter
- 6.553 km ESE of Hasaki, JapanNovember 8, 1911 · 180 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 15,093 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1855M7.0
Tokyo
11 Nov 1855 · 207 km away
6,757 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1703M8.2
Off Sw Boso Peninsula
30 Dec 1703 · 136 km away
5,233 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1707M8.4
Enshunada
28 Oct 1707 · 280 km away
2,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1854M8.3
Enshunada Sea
23 Dec 1854 · 271 km away
1,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1853
Odawara
11 Mar 1853 · 208 km away
79 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1894M7.5
Tokyo
20 Jun 1894 · 208 km away
24 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.