Reviewed by USGSJapan114y ago
M6.8 earthquake 8 km NNE of Kajiki, Japan
Monday, January 12, 1914, 09:28:12 UTC · 31.807°N, 130.686°E
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck 8 km NNE of Kajiki, Japan on Monday, January 12, 1914, 09:28:12 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.2 on April 13, 1913.
- Magnitude
- 6.8
- 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
239 kilotons of TNT
That is about 16 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 501 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
20 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Amur and Okinawa 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 7 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.518 km SE of Honmachi, JapanNovember 10, 1909 · 67 km N of this epicenter
- 7.229 km ESE of Takanabe, JapanApril 13, 1913 · 108 km E of this epicenter
- 7.161 km ESE of Nishinoomote, JapanAugust 24, 1904 · 171 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.931 km SSW of Hikari, JapanJune 2, 1905 · 235 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.7120 km E of Nishinoomote, JapanJanuary 5, 1913 · 190 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.636 km E of Nobeoka, JapanMarch 13, 1906 · 153 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.546 km SE of Koshima, JapanMarch 10, 1909 · 209 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 13 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 16,124 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1792M6.4
Kyusyu Island
21 May 1792 · 116 km away
15,030 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1700M7.0
Tsushima, Nagasaki Prefecture
16 Apr 1700 · 296 km away
1,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1914M7.1
Sakurijima
12 Jan 1914 · 25 km away
63 deaths$19 million damagetsunami
- 1889M6.3
Kumamoto
28 Jul 1889 · 110 km away
20 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
- 1905M7.8
Aki
2 Jun 1905 · 273 km away
11 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
- 1769M7.4
Sw. Kyushu Island, Japan
29 Aug 1769 · 135 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.