M8.1 earthquake near Shingū, Wakayama

What happened

A magnitude 8.1 earthquake struck 1944 Toankai Earthquake on 7 Dec 1944, 04:35 UTC at a depth of 15 km.

Earthquakes of this size are classed as Great. Can cause severe damage across hundreds of kilometres and may trigger tsunamis. This was a shallow earthquake, which tends to be felt more strongly at the surface.

The nearest town in our records is Shingū, about 20 km away in Wakayama, Japan.