Reviewed by USGSJapan54y ago
M5.5 earthquake 217 km SSE of Tateyama, Japan
Thursday, May 17, 1973, 15:44:19 UTC · 33.144°N, 140.671°E
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 217 km SSE of Tateyama, Japan on Thursday, May 17, 1973, 15:44:19 UTC, at a depth of 62.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.7 on April 25, 1973.
- Magnitude
- 5.5
- Moderate · mb
- Depth
- 62 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: 75 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
3 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/6 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 6 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
62 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
62 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 75 km
USGS lists 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.4 on June 4, 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 239 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 · 266 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.9174 km SE of Katsuura, JapanNovember 25, 1953 · 130 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.85 km E of Tateyama, JapanSeptember 2, 1923 · 216 km N of this epicenter
- 7.450 km SSW of Ōyama, JapanJanuary 21, 1906 · 270 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.3206 km SSE of Wada, JapanDecember 4, 1972 · 25 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.3190 km SE of Hasaki, JapanSeptember 7, 1906 · 248 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.2176 km SE of Shingū, JapanFebruary 12, 1910 · 295 km W of this epicenter
- 7.238 km SSW of Shimoda, JapanOctober 24, 1905 · 215 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 26 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 120,755 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1923M7.9
Tokyo, Yokohama
1 Sep 1923 · 243 km away
105,385 deaths$600 million damagetsunami
- 1855M7.0
Tokyo
11 Nov 1855 · 290 km away
6,757 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1703M8.2
Off Sw Boso Peninsula
30 Dec 1703 · 215 km away
5,233 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1707M8.4
Enshunada
28 Oct 1707 · 286 km away
2,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1854M8.3
Enshunada Sea
23 Dec 1854 · 274 km away
1,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1930M7.1
Honshu: Idu
25 Nov 1930 · 257 km away
259 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.