FACTSHEET: Japan’s largest earthquakes on record
Japan's devastating 8.9-magnitude earthquake, which struck the region Friday and set off a giant tsunami, is expected to go down in history as on…
Japan’s devastating 8.9-magnitude earthquake, which struck the region Friday and set off a giant tsunami, is expected to go down in history as one of the country’s largest on record, according to data from the U.S. Geological Service (USGS). Dozens of aftershocks have also struck the region, some measuring a magnitude greater than 6.0 on the Richter scale.
The quake ranks itself at least in the top five since since 1891, when an 8.0-magnitude quake struck in the epicenter city of Mino-Owari. It doesn’t appear to be close to measuring up to Japan’s most deadly earthquake ever, in 1923, when more than 143,000 people died following a 7.9-magnitude quake.
Here is a list of all of the largest notable earthquakes in Japan, via the USGS.
1891/10/27 – Mino-Owari, Japan – M 8.0 Fatalities 7,273
1896/06/15 – Sanriku, Japan – M 8.5 Fatalities 27,000
1923/09/01 – Kanto (Kwanto), Japan – M 7.9 Fatalities 143,000
1927/03/07 – Tango, Japan – M 7.6 Fatalities 3,020
1933/03/02 – Sanriku, Japan – M 8.4 Fatalities 2,990
1943/09/10 – Tottori, Japan – M 7.4 Fatalities 1,190
1944/12/07 – Tonankai, Japan – M 8.1 Fatalities 1,223
1945/01/12 – Mikawa, Japan – M 7.1 Fatalities 1,961
1946/12/20 – Nankaido, Japan – M 8.1 Fatalities 1,330
1948/06/28 – Fukui, Japan – M 7.3 Fatalities 3,769
1964/06/16 – Niigata, Japan – M 7.5 Fatalities 26
1995/01/16 – Kobe, Japan – M 6.9 Fatalities 5,502
2000/10/06 – Western Honshu, Japan – M 6.7
2003/05/26 – Near the East Coast of Honshu, Japan – M 7.0
2003/09/25 – Hokkaido, Japan Region – M 8.3
2003/10/08 – Hokkaido, Japan Region – M 6.7
2003/10/31 – Off the East Coast of Honshu, Japan – M 7.0
2004/05/29 – Off the East Coast of Honshu, Japan – M 6.5
2004/09/05 – Near the South Coast of Western Honshu, Japan – M 7.2
2004/09/05 – Near the South Coast of Honshu, Japan – M 7.4
2004/09/06 – Near the South Coast of Honshu, Japan – M 6.6
2004/10/23 – Near the West Coast of Honshu, Japan – M 6.6 Fatalities 40
2004/11/28 – Hokkaido, Japan Region – M 7.0
2004/12/06 – Hokkaido, Japan Region – M 6.8
2005/03/20 – Kyushu, Japan – M 6.6 Fatalities 1
2005/07/23 – Near the South Coast of Honshu, Japan – M 5.9
2005/08/16 – Near the East Coast of Honshu, Japan – M 7.2
2005/10/19 – Near the East Coast of Honshu, Japan – M 6.3
2005/11/14 – Off the East Coast of Honshu, Japan – M 7.0
2005/12/02 – Near the East Coast of Honshu, Japan – M 6.5
2006/06/11 – Kyushu, Japan – M 6.3
2007/03/25 – Near the West Coast of Honshu,Japan – M 6.7 Fatalities 1
2007/07/16 – Near the west coast of Honshu, Japan – M 6.6 Fatalities 9
2008/05/07 – Near the East Coast of Honshu, Japan – M 6.8
2008/06/13 – Eastern Honshu, Japan – M 6.9 Fatalities 13
2008/07/23 – Eastern Honshu, Japan – M 6.8 Fatalities 1
2008/09/11 – Hokkaido, Japan region – M 6.8
2009/08/09 – Near the South Coast of Honshu, Japan – M 7.1
2009/08/10 – Near the South Coast of Honshu, Japan – M 6.1 Fatalities 1
2009/08/12 – Izu Islands, Japan region – M 6.6
2009/08/17 – Southwestern Ryukyu Islands, Japan – M 6.7
2009/10/30 – Ryukyu Islands, Japan – M 6.8