Reviewed by USGSJapan112y ago
M6.8 earthquake 62 km SE of Kamaishi, Japan
Thursday, November 18, 1915, 04:02:31 UTC · 38.960°N, 142.459°E
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck 62 km SE of Kamaishi, Japan on Thursday, November 18, 1915, 04:02:31 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.8 on November 1, 1915.
- Magnitude
- 6.8
- 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
208 kilotons of TNT
That is about 14 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 437 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
141 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
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 20 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.7217 km ESE of Kamaishi, JapanJuly 6, 1905 · 156 km E of this epicenter
- 7.6119 km SE of Kamaishi, JapanNovember 1, 1915 · 58 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.5Near the east coast of Honshu, JapanAugust 9, 1901 · 183 km N of this epicenter
- 7.2Near the east coast of Honshu, JapanAugust 9, 1901 · 171 km N of this epicenter
- 7.013 km ESE of Yokote, JapanMarch 14, 1914 · 156 km W of this epicenter
- 7.0Off the east coast of Honshu, JapanMay 2, 1902 · 133 km E of this epicenter
- 7.0Northern Honshu, JapanMay 11, 1900 · 121 km W of this epicenter
- 7.0Near the east coast of Honshu, JapanJune 15, 1901 · 47 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 34 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 31,300 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1896M8.3
Sanriku
15 Jun 1896 · 146 km away
27,122 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1766M6.9
Hirosaki
8 Mar 1766 · 263 km away
1,700 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1793M8.3
Sanriku,Rikuzen,Rikuchu
17 Feb 1793 · 143 km away
745 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1894M7.0
Syonai
22 Oct 1894 · 230 km away
726 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1804M7.3
Kisakata
10 Jul 1804 · 217 km away
450 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1896
Senhoku, Ugo
31 Aug 1896 · 170 km away
206 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.