Reviewed by USGSJapan34y ago
M4.8 earthquake 33 km SSE of Shizunai-furukawachō, Japan
Monday, February 1, 1993, 19:52:03 UTC · 42.050°N, 142.517°E
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 33 km SSE of Shizunai-furukawachō, Japan on Monday, February 1, 1993, 19:52:03 UTC, at a depth of 77.7 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.8 on January 31, 1993.
- Magnitude
- 4.8
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 78 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
239 tons of TNT
That is about 1/63 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 2 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
208 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Pacific and Okhotsk plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: intermediate
78 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 50 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.3 on February 11, 1993. 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 812 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.21968 Tokachi-Oki EarthquakeMay 16, 1968 · 147 km SE of this epicenter
- 8.11952 Tokachi-Oki EarthquakeMarch 4, 1952 · 114 km E of this epicenter
- 8.0113 km ENE of Miyako, JapanMarch 20, 1960 · 250 km S of this epicenter
- 7.978 km E of Hachinohe, JapanMarch 9, 1931 · 162 km S of this epicenter
- 7.970 km S of Honchō, JapanMay 16, 1968 · 68 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.719 km ESE of Nemuro, JapanJune 17, 1973 · 298 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.652 km NE of Otofuke, JapanJanuary 15, 1993 · 169 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.5Near the east coast of Honshu, JapanAugust 9, 1901 · 162 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 54 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,522 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1766M6.9
Hirosaki
8 Mar 1766 · 198 km away
1,700 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1993M7.7
Hokkaido; Russia: Southeast; South Korea
12 Jul 1993 · 287 km away · intensity VIII
231 deaths$1.2 billion damagetsunami
- 1896
Senhoku, Ugo
31 Aug 1896 · 261 km away
206 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1982M6.7
Hokkaido, Urakawa, Hiroo
21 Mar 1982 · 18 km away · intensity X
110 deaths$1 million damagetsunami
- 1704
N Of Nosiro
27 May 1704 · 277 km away
58 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1968M8.2
Off East Coast Of Honshu Island
16 May 1968 · 150 km away · intensity VI
52 deaths$131 million damagetsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.