QuakeScout
Magnitude7.5

Reviewed by USGSJapan region19y ago

M7.5 earthquake in Volcano Islands, Japan region

Friday, September 28, 2007, 13:38:57 UTC · 22.013°N, 142.668°E

A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck in Volcano Islands, Japan region on Friday, September 28, 2007, 13:38:57 UTC, at a depth of 260.0 km (intermediate). USGS received 27 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of V (moderate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.6 on March 28, 2000.

Magnitude
7.5
Major · mwc
Depth
260 km
Intermediate
Felt reports
27
Max intensity V
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

2.7 megatons of TNT

That is about 178 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 5,623 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

35 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

260 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

Reports sent by people to USGS, grouped by place (most reports first). Intensity uses the Modified Mercalli scale (I–X): what people felt, not the magnitude.

PlaceIntensityReportsDistance
Tokyo, Tokio, JapanII · Weak71561 km
Chatan, Okinawa, JapanIV · Light61608 km
Yokosuka, Kanagawa, JapanIII · Weak61520 km
Ginowan, Okinawa, JapanV · Moderate51606 km
Naha, Okinawa, JapanIV · Light21612 km
Okinawa, Okinawa, JapanIII · Weak11607 km
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 12 M2.5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.1 on October 1, 2007. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

M3M4M5M6M71h6h1d3d7d14d30dMainshock M7.5
Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.
  1. 4.3Mariana Islands region19y ago · 83 km E of this epicenter
  2. 4.6Mariana Islands region19y ago · 54 km E of this epicenter
  3. 4.0Mariana Islands region19y ago · 31 km SE of this epicenter
  4. 4.1Mariana Islands region19y ago · 7 km S of this epicenter
  5. 5.1Volcano Islands, Japan region19y ago · 92 km N of this epicenter
  6. 4.4Mariana Islands region19y ago · 30 km SE of this epicenter
  7. 4.1Mariana Islands region19y ago · 82 km E of this epicenter
  8. 4.1Volcano Islands, Japan region19y ago · 180 km NE of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 252 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.9Volcano Islands, Japan regionNovember 24, 1914 · 32 km NW of this epicenter
  2. 7.6Volcano Islands, Japan regionMarch 28, 2000 · 115 km E of this epicenter
  3. 7.5Volcano Islands, Japan regionFebruary 24, 1934 · 184 km NE of this epicenter
  4. 7.2Mariana Islands regionJuly 11, 1905 · 136 km E of this epicenter
  5. 7.2Volcano Islands, Japan regionAugust 27, 1954 · 223 km N of this epicenter
  6. 7.2Mariana Islands regionJune 19, 1947 · 293 km E of this epicenter
  7. 7.2Volcano Islands, Japan regionMay 30, 1955 · 258 km N of this epicenter
  8. 7.2Volcano Islands, Japan regionFebruary 1, 1954 · 242 km N of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 3 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:

  1. 1914M8.1

    Volcano Islands

    24 Nov 1914 · 34 km away

  2. 2000M7.6

    Volcano Islands

    28 Mar 2000 · 115 km away

  3. 2007M7.5

    Volcano Islands

    28 Sep 2007 · 0 km away

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers

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