Reviewed by USGSJapan112y ago
M7.0 earthquake 139 km S of Ōyama, Japan
Friday, October 8, 1915, 15:36:10 UTC · 33.353°N, 138.045°E
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck 139 km S of Ōyama, Japan on Friday, October 8, 1915, 15:36:10 UTC, at a depth of 290.0 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.2 on February 12, 1910.
- Magnitude
- 7.0
- Major · mB
- Depth
- 290 km
- Intermediate
- 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
477 kilotons of TNT
That is about 32 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,000 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
33 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Amur and Philippine Sea plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: intermediate
290 km
Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.
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 6 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.450 km SSW of Ōyama, JapanJanuary 21, 1906 · 91 km N of this epicenter
- 7.238 km SSW of Shimoda, JapanOctober 24, 1905 · 132 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.2176 km SE of Shingū, JapanFebruary 12, 1910 · 76 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.473 km S of Shimoda, JapanSeptember 17, 1906 · 104 km NE of this epicenter
- 5.812 km NE of Gujō, JapanApril 20, 1906 · 287 km N of this epicenter
- 5.812 km W of Ichihara, JapanJuly 2, 1909 · 296 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 18 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 20,461 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1891M8.4
Mino-Owari
27 Oct 1891 · 257 km away
7,273 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1703M8.2
Off Sw Boso Peninsula
30 Dec 1703 · 257 km away
5,233 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1854M8.4
Nankaido
24 Dec 1854 · 285 km away
3,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1707M8.4
Enshunada
28 Oct 1707 · 86 km away
2,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1854
Iga, Ise, Yamato
9 Jul 1854 · 263 km away
1,352 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1854M8.3
Enshunada Sea
23 Dec 1854 · 73 km away
1,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.