Earthquake of Magnitude 7.4 Strikes Japan's Bonin Islands

The Earthquake of 21 December 2010

The earthquake occurred in the early hours of the morning: initial data published by USGS indicate that it took place offshore, around 150 km east of the settlement of Chichi-shima at a depth of approximately 15km. At magnitude 7.4, the earthquake is regarded as a major seismic event: it was followed by a series of aftershocks: at the time of writing, USGS had published information on six greater than magnitude 5.0.

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Despite the intensity of the earthquake, its offshore location in a relatively sparsely populated part of the world meant that expected casualties were few and none had been reported at the time of writing. Early assessments indicated that fewer than 3,000 people were exposed to direct shaking and that the likelihood of structural damage was slight (USGS).A major earthquake of magnitude 7.4 struck close to Japan’s Bonin Islands on Tuesday 21 December 2010 Co-ordinated Universal Time, or 22 December local time (United States Geological Survey, “Magnitude 7.4 - Bonin Islands, Japan Region”, earthquake.usgs.gov). The islands are among several island groups which lie in the Pacific Ocean to the south of Japan and are located approximately 600 miles from the Japanese mainland.