M6.1 earthquake near Shibetsu, Hokkaido

What happened

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck 19 km NNW of Shibetsu, Japan on 15 Nov 1997, 07:05 UTC at a depth of 161 km.

Earthquakes of this size are classed as Strong. Can cause damage in populated areas up to tens of kilometres away. This was an intermediate-depth earthquake, so shaking is spread over a wider, gentler area.

The nearest town in our records is Shibetsu, about 19 km away in Hokkaido, Japan.