Reviewed by USGSJapan114y ago
M7.0 earthquake 13 km ESE of Yokote, Japan
Saturday, March 14, 1914, 20:00:06 UTC · 39.284°N, 140.698°E
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck 13 km ESE of Yokote, Japan on Saturday, March 14, 1914, 20:00:06 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.5 on August 9, 1901.
- Magnitude
- 7.0
- Major · 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
548 kilotons of TNT
That is about 36 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,148 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
196 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Okhotsk and Amur plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
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 200 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 12 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 · 200 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.2Near the east coast of Honshu, JapanAugust 9, 1901 · 205 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.0Northern Honshu, JapanMay 11, 1900 · 74 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.0Near the east coast of Honshu, JapanJune 15, 1901 · 201 km E of this epicenter
- 7.0Off the east coast of Honshu, JapanMay 2, 1902 · 286 km E of this epicenter
- 7.0114 km E of Miyako, JapanOctober 11, 1913 · 228 km E of this epicenter
- 6.870 km E of Namie, JapanJanuary 15, 1908 · 211 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.7105 km ENE of Miyako, JapanDecember 8, 1912 · 219 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 37 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 32,820 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1896M8.3
Sanriku
15 Jun 1896 · 285 km away
27,122 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1766M6.9
Hirosaki
8 Mar 1766 · 180 km away
1,700 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1828
Sandyo In Etigo
18 Dec 1828 · 224 km away
1,443 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1793M8.3
Sanriku,Rikuzen,Rikuchu
17 Feb 1793 · 299 km away
745 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1894M7.0
Syonai
22 Oct 1894 · 88 km away
726 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1804M7.3
Kisakata
10 Jul 1804 · 70 km away
450 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.