August 16, 1739 Earthquake: N Sanriku,mutsu, Japan
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck N Sanriku,mutsu, Japan on August 16, 1739.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- August 16, 1739
- Place
- N Sanriku,mutsu, Japan
- Magnitude
- 7.1
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 40.700° N, 142.300° E
- Country
- Japan
- Region
- East Asia
The toll
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
Sources NCEI cites
The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.
- #1065 Suzuki, Ziro, editor (1971). General Report on the Tokachi-Oki Earthquake of 1968. Keigaku Publishing Co., Ltd, Tokyo, Japan, 754 p.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- June 15, 1896, Sanriku, Japan
- March 8, 1766, Hirosaki, Japan
- August 31, 1896, Senhoku, Ugo, Japan
- March 21, 1982, Hokkaido, Urakawa, Hiroo, Japan
- May 16, 1968, Off East Coast of Honshu Island, Japan
- August 23, 1856, Oshima, Japan
- August 9, 1901, Off Northeast Coast Honshu, Japan
- February 8, 1793, Aomori, Japan
- December 28, 1994, Honshu, Japan
- September 25, 2003, Hokkaido, Japan
- July 23, 2008, N, Honshu, Japan
- March 15, 1763, Hachinohe, Sanriku, Japan
- February 10, 1945, Sanriku, Japan
- August 9, 1901, Off Northeast Coast Honshu, Japan
- August 9, 1901, Off Northeast Coast Honshu, Japan
More
Significant earthquakes of 1739The 1700sRecent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 1278.