Reviewed by USGSJapan31y ago
M4.6 earthquake 86 km E of Naze, Japan
Saturday, December 9, 1995, 09:46:08 UTC · 28.249°N, 130.355°E
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 86 km E of Naze, Japan on Saturday, December 9, 1995, 09:46:08 UTC, at a depth of 30.8 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.3 on November 8, 1995.
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 31 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
120 tons of TNT
That is about 1/126 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 4 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
31 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Okinawa and Philippine Sea plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
31 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 6 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.7 on December 11, 1995. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 4.383 km SE of Naze, Japan31y ago · 47 km SW of this epicenter
- 3.482 km ESE of Naze, Japan31y ago · 37 km SW of this epicenter
- 4.276 km ESE of Naze, Japan31y ago · 36 km SW of this epicenter
- 4.295 km SE of Naze, Japan31y ago · 48 km S of this epicenter
- 3.875 km E of Naze, Japan31y ago · 24 km NW of this epicenter
- 4.783 km ESE of Naze, Japan31y ago · 23 km SW of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 375 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.9108 km NW of Naze, JapanJune 15, 1911 · 181 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.678 km S of Naze, JapanJune 16, 1938 · 108 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.4152 km ESE of Koshima, JapanFebruary 1, 1916 · 204 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.2Ryukyu Islands, JapanJune 24, 1901 · 44 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.2101 km NE of Naze, JapanNovember 5, 1923 · 75 km N of this epicenter
- 7.161 km ESE of Nishinoomote, JapanAugust 24, 1904 · 273 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.183 km SE of Naze, JapanOctober 18, 1995 · 40 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.0126 km ESE of Koshima, JapanJuly 18, 1961 · 206 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 7 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 12 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1911M8.0
Ryukyu Islands
15 Jun 1911 · 44 km away
12 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1901M7.9
Ryukyu Islands
24 Jun 1901 · 143 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1995M7.1
Ryuku Is.
18 Oct 1995 · 40 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1916M8.0
Duda
1 Feb 1916 · 178 km away
- 1904M7.9
Kyushu
24 Aug 1904 · 198 km away
- 1995M6.8
Ryuku Is.
19 Oct 1995 · 27 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.