Reviewed by USGSJapan115y ago
M7.2 earthquake 29 km ESE of Takanabe, Japan
Sunday, April 13, 1913, 06:40:28 UTC · 32.033°N, 131.795°E
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck 29 km ESE of Takanabe, Japan on Sunday, April 13, 1913, 06:40:28 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.5 on November 10, 1909.
- Magnitude
- 7.2
- Major · 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
985 kilotons of TNT
That is about 65 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 2,065 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
31 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
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 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 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 · 106 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.161 km ESE of Nishinoomote, JapanAugust 24, 1904 · 175 km S of this epicenter
- 6.931 km SSW of Hikari, JapanJune 2, 1905 · 187 km N of this epicenter
- 6.7120 km E of Nishinoomote, JapanJanuary 5, 1913 · 150 km S of this epicenter
- 6.636 km E of Nobeoka, JapanMarch 13, 1906 · 63 km N of this epicenter
- 6.546 km SE of Koshima, JapanMarch 10, 1909 · 249 km S of this epicenter
- 6.397 km SSW of Muroto-misakicho, JapanApril 2, 1913 · 200 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 12 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 15,061 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1792M6.4
Kyusyu Island
21 May 1792 · 164 km away
15,030 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1889M6.3
Kumamoto
28 Jul 1889 · 134 km away
20 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
- 1905M7.8
Aki
2 Jun 1905 · 220 km away
11 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
- 1769M7.4
Sw. Kyushu Island, Japan
29 Aug 1769 · 35 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1899M7.1
Seikaido
24 Nov 1899 · 24 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1904M7.9
Kyushu
24 Aug 1904 · 283 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.