Reviewed by USGSJapan54y ago
M4.3 earthquake 208 km SSE of Tateyama, Japan
Thursday, February 15, 1973, 10:28:08 UTC · 33.162°N, 140.444°E
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck 208 km SSE of Tateyama, Japan on Thursday, February 15, 1973, 10:28:08 UTC, at a depth of 55.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.3
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 55 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
43 tons of TNT
That is about 1/354 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 11 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
29 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North American and African plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
55 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 50 km
USGS lists 4 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.8 on February 24, 1973. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 228 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.05 km SSE of Ōiso, JapanSeptember 1, 1923 · 256 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.9174 km SE of Katsuura, JapanNovember 25, 1953 · 144 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.85 km E of Tateyama, JapanSeptember 2, 1923 · 208 km N of this epicenter
- 7.450 km SSW of Ōyama, JapanJanuary 21, 1906 · 251 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.3206 km SSE of Wada, JapanDecember 4, 1972 · 42 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.3190 km SE of Hasaki, JapanSeptember 7, 1906 · 262 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.2176 km SE of Shingū, JapanFebruary 12, 1910 · 274 km W of this epicenter
- 7.238 km SSW of Shimoda, JapanOctober 24, 1905 · 197 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 27 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 120,756 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1923M7.9
Tokyo, Yokohama
1 Sep 1923 · 232 km away
105,385 deaths$600 million damagetsunami
- 1855M7.0
Tokyo
11 Nov 1855 · 283 km away
6,757 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1703M8.2
Off Sw Boso Peninsula
30 Dec 1703 · 208 km away
5,233 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1707M8.4
Enshunada
28 Oct 1707 · 266 km away
2,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1854M8.3
Enshunada Sea
23 Dec 1854 · 253 km away
1,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1930M7.1
Honshu: Idu
25 Nov 1930 · 244 km away
259 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.