January 12, 1914 Earthquake: Sakurijima, Japan

January 12, 1914, 18:29. There was an earthquake connected with an eruption of the Sakurajima volcano and accompanied by a tsunami. In the fall of 1913, at Yoshino, north of Kagoshima, springs, a pond and several wells dried up. On Nov 8 and Dec 9, the Kirishima volcano erupted, The seismic station at Kagoshima registered 91 earthquakes in 1913, compared to a previous annual total of 34.From Jan 9, a swarm of earthquakes began to be registered and felt in the area of the Sakurajima volcano. Five strong shocks were felt on the 10th. Ten were felt on the 11th. The number of shocks registered increased 4-5 times from morning to evening on the 11th. At Kagoshima, on the 11th, shocks were felt every 20 minutes, every 10 minutes until 3:00 on the 12th, and every 5 minutes from 3:00 to 5:00. Then a pause ensued; at the same time, the underground rumble stopped. Continuous rapid explosions were heard beginning at 9:00. The main explosion occurred at 10:05, and a new crater appeared on the western slope of the volcano. A column of ash rose 9 km, and was then "bent" to the east by the wind. Ten minutes later, a second column of smoke arose on the eastern slope and joined the first. An hour later, the ash began to fall on Kagoshima, but for the most part it fell on the sparsely settled Osumi Peninsula and scattered all over central Japan (it fell on Osaka on the 13th, on Tokyo on the 14th). The depth of the layer of ash was 1 3/4 m near the volcano. The eruption began to abate at 17:00, at about this time, several strong shocks were felt.

The main earthquake, at 18:29, caused the collapse of homes and dikes at Kagoshima, rock falls and slides. The railway was out of commission for a day, the telegraph line for three days. The collapses buried several refugees. In addition, a tsunami wave 3 m high occurred (according to some sources, 1 1/2 hours after the earthquake), and did serious damage to the boats in the harbor. Thirty-five people died (15 at Kagoshima and 20 at other places) and 112 were injured.

At the same time as the earthquake, the gleam of lava was observed in the column of smoke. On the evening of the 13th, a scorching cloud appeared, setting fire to the homes at the foot of the volcano. The volcano was active for a month; new craters were formed; lava poured out, reaching the sea; new islands appeared.

The lava flow on the western slope of the volcano had a length of more than 5 km and a width of 2-4 km. The heavier eastern flow issued from three pairs of openings, extending in a line. In each pair, the explosion cone was situated on top and the lava issued from below. The strait between the volcano and the Osumi Peninsula, 60 m deep, was filled in with lava, which blocked the strait on February 1. In a month, this tongue rose another 50 m above the water level.

As a result of the eruption, the geodetic surface of the volcano rose 7 m, while the floor of the bay north of the volcano subsided 3 m. The shore of Kagoshima Bay, which had been rising for 20 years, subsided 1-2 m (several feet).

The total loss due to these events was estimated at 19 million dollars.

(above from reference #414)

January 12, 1914, 31.5 N, 131 E, 29 deaths, 120 houses destroyed, Sakurijima, eruption; casualties omitted. (reference #1068)

63 total deaths. Half or more of the deaths resulted from collapse of stone walls and cliffs, mainly in Kagoshima during the earthquake. Few (6?) deaths on island because of effective evacuation; another 12 buried in landslide that was probably earthquake-induced. Uncertain number killed in building collapses during earthquake. Two people buried by pumice at Fumato. 23 drowned attempting to swim from island. Other estimates of deaths range 23 to 140. Injuries probably totalled 121, but estimates range from 87 to 127. (reference #1412)