Reviewed by USGSJapan region26y ago
M7.6 earthquake in Volcano Islands, Japan region
Tuesday, March 28, 2000, 11:00:22 UTC · 22.338°N, 143.730°E
A magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck in Volcano Islands, Japan region on Tuesday, March 28, 2000, 11:00:22 UTC, at a depth of 126.5 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.9 on November 24, 1914.
- Magnitude
- 7.6
- Major · mwc
- Depth
- 127 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: 200 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
3.8 megatons of TNT
That is about 252 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 7,943 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
75 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Philippine Sea and Mariana plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: intermediate
127 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 lists 50 M2.5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.2 on April 21, 2000. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 3.8Volcano Islands, Japan region26y ago · 171 km N of this epicenter
- 4.3Volcano Islands, Japan region26y ago · 64 km E of this epicenter
- 3.2Mariana Islands region26y ago · 93 km SW of this epicenter
- 4.1Volcano Islands, Japan region26y ago · 34 km W of this epicenter
- 4.3Volcano Islands, Japan region26y ago · 15 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.2Volcano Islands, Japan region26y ago · 34 km W of this epicenter
- 4.0Volcano Islands, Japan region26y ago · 24 km W of this epicenter
- 3.9Mariana Islands region26y ago · 117 km W of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 230 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.9Volcano Islands, Japan regionNovember 24, 1914 · 123 km W of this epicenter
- 7.5Volcano Islands, Japan regionFebruary 24, 1934 · 90 km N of this epicenter
- 7.2Mariana Islands regionJuly 11, 1905 · 87 km S of this epicenter
- 7.2Volcano Islands, Japan regionAugust 27, 1954 · 197 km N of this epicenter
- 7.2Mariana Islands regionJune 19, 1947 · 199 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.2Volcano Islands, Japan regionMay 30, 1955 · 258 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.2Volcano Islands, Japan regionFebruary 1, 1954 · 193 km N of this epicenter
- 7.1Volcano Islands, Japan regionMarch 23, 1913 · 132 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 2 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1914M8.1
Volcano Islands
24 Nov 1914 · 84 km away
- 2000M7.6
Volcano Islands
28 Mar 2000 · 0 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.