*** Welcome to piglix ***

Great Kanto earthquake

1923 Great Kantō earthquake
1923 Great Kantō earthquake is located in Japan
1923 Great Kantō earthquake
Tokyo
Tokyo
Date September 1, 1923 (1923-09-01)
Origin time 11:58:32 JST (UTC+09:00)
Duration 48 sec 4 min
Magnitude 7.9 8.0 8.2Mw
Depth 23 km (14 mi)
Epicenter 35°19.6′N 139°8.3′E / 35.3267°N 139.1383°E / 35.3267; 139.1383Coordinates: 35°19.6′N 139°8.3′E / 35.3267°N 139.1383°E / 35.3267; 139.1383
Type Megathrust
Areas affected Japan
Max. intensity XI (Extreme)
Tsunami Up to 12 m (39 ft)
in Atami, Shizuoka, Tōkai
Landslides Yes
Aftershocks 6 of 7.0 M or higher
Casualties 105,385 deaths

The Great Kantō earthquake (関東大震災 Kantō daishinsai?) struck the Kantō Plain on the Japanese main island of Honshū at 11:58:44 a.m. JST (2:58:44 UTC) on Saturday, September 1, 1923. Varied accounts indicate the duration of the earthquake was between four and ten minutes.

The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.9 on the moment magnitude scale (Mw), with its focus deep beneath Izu Ōshima Island in Sagami Bay. The cause was a rupture of part of the convergent boundary where the Philippine Sea Plate is subducting beneath the Okhotsk Plate along the line of the Sagami Trough.

This earthquake devastated Tokyo, the port city of Yokohama, and the surrounding prefectures of Chiba, Kanagawa, and Shizuoka, and caused widespread damage throughout the Kantō region. Its force was so great in Kamakura, over 60 km (37 mi) from the epicenter, it moved the Great Buddha statue, which weighs about 93 short tons (84,000 kg), almost two feet.

Estimated casualties totaled about 142,800 deaths, including about 40,000 who went missing and were presumed dead. According to the Japanese construction company Kajima Kobori Research's conclusive report of September 2004, 105,385 deaths were confirmed in the 1923 quake.


...
Wikipedia

...