M6.3 earthquake near Abashiri, Hokkaido

What happened

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 33 km N of Abashiri, Japan on 5 Mar 1956, 23:29 UTC at a depth of 20 km.

Earthquakes of this size are classed as Strong. Can cause damage in populated areas up to tens of kilometres away. This was a shallow earthquake, which tends to be felt more strongly at the surface.

The nearest town in our records is Abashiri, about 34 km away in Hokkaido, Japan.