Reviewed by USGSJapan115y ago
M6.7 earthquake 120 km E of Nishinoomote, Japan
Sunday, January 5, 1913, 17:21:01 UTC · 30.747°N, 132.256°E
A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck 120 km E of Nishinoomote, Japan on Sunday, January 5, 1913, 17:21:01 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.5 on November 10, 1909.
- Magnitude
- 6.7
- 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
169 kilotons of TNT
That is about 11 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 355 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
41 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 4 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 · 233 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.161 km ESE of Nishinoomote, JapanAugust 24, 1904 · 73 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.636 km E of Nobeoka, JapanMarch 13, 1906 · 203 km N of this epicenter
- 6.546 km SE of Koshima, JapanMarch 10, 1909 · 160 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 9 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 15,050 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1792M6.4
Kyusyu Island
21 May 1792 · 294 km away
15,030 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1889M6.3
Kumamoto
28 Jul 1889 · 272 km away
20 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
- 1769M7.4
Sw. Kyushu Island, Japan
29 Aug 1769 · 174 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1899M7.1
Seikaido
24 Nov 1899 · 130 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1904M7.9
Kyushu
24 Aug 1904 · 232 km away
- 1909M7.9
Kyushu
10 Nov 1909 · 183 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.