March 15, 1763 Earthquake: Hachinohe, Sanriku, Japan
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Hachinohe, Sanriku, Japan on March 15, 1763. It caused a tsunami.
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
- March 15, 1763
- Place
- Hachinohe, Sanriku, Japan
- Magnitude
- 7.1 (Ms)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 40.700° N, 142.000° E
- Country
- Japan
The toll
- Deaths
- Many (about 101 to 1,000) with its tsunami and other effects
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million) with its tsunami and other effects
- Houses destroyed
- Many (101 to 1,000) with its tsunami and other effects
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.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Reference #414:
1763, March 15. There was an earthquake with source in the open sea off the coast of the eastern part of Aomori Prefecture. Recurrent shocks continued through March and April.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- March 8, 1766, Hirosaki, Japan
- July 31, 1640, Uchiura Bay, Japan
- August 31, 1896, Senhoku, Ugo, Japan
- March 21, 1982, Hokkaido, Urakawa, Hiroo, Japan
- September 25, 1810, Oga, 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
- July 23, 2008, N, Honshu, Japan
- June 8, 1912, Sanriku, Japan
- February 10, 1945, Sanriku, Japan
- August 16, 1739, N Sanriku,mutsu, Japan
- December 8, 2025, Misawa, Honshu, Japan
More
Significant earthquakes of 1763The 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 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 1370.