M8.3 earthquake near Kushimoto, Wakayama

What happened

A magnitude 8.3 earthquake struck 68 km S of Shing?, Japan on 20 Dec 1946, 19:19 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 Kushimoto, about 40 km away in Wakayama, Japan.