Reviewed by USGSJapan113y ago
M6.5 earthquake 126 km SSE of Obihiro, Japan
Wednesday, March 17, 1915, 18:44:33 UTC · 41.868°N, 143.797°E
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck 126 km SSE of Obihiro, Japan on Wednesday, March 17, 1915, 18:44:33 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.0 on October 11, 1913.
- Magnitude
- 6.5
- 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
85 kilotons of TNT
That is about 6 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 178 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
118 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 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:
- 7.5Near the east coast of Honshu, JapanAugust 9, 1901 · 189 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.2Near the east coast of Honshu, JapanAugust 9, 1901 · 187 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.1Off the coast of Hokkaido, JapanDecember 25, 1900 · 220 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.0114 km E of Miyako, JapanOctober 11, 1913 · 229 km S of this epicenter
- 6.949 km E of Nemuro, JapanOctober 13, 1911 · 258 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.830 km ESE of Tomakomai, JapanFebruary 20, 1913 · 169 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.755 km SW of Shikotan, RussiaDecember 23, 1907 · 266 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.7105 km ENE of Miyako, JapanDecember 8, 1912 · 204 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 22 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 28,912 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1896M8.3
Sanriku
15 Jun 1896 · 264 km away
27,122 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1766M6.9
Hirosaki
8 Mar 1766 · 280 km away
1,700 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1843M8.4
Hokkaido: Yezo, Kushiro, Nemuro
25 Apr 1843 · 183 km away
45 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1856M8.0
Oshima
23 Aug 1856 · 154 km away · intensity V
26 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1901M8.2
Off Northeast Coast Honshu
9 Aug 1901 · 189 km away
18 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1894M7.9
Off Coast Of Honshu
22 Mar 1894 · 195 km away · intensity IX
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.