July 22, 1768 Earthquake: Ryukyu Islands, Japan

Name: July 22, 1768 Earthquake: Ryukyu Islands, Japan
Start: 1768-07-22
Location: Ryukyu Islands, Japan

July 22, 1768 · M6.5 · 9 houses destroyed

A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Ryukyu Islands, Japan on July 22, 1768. 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: July 22, 1768
Place: Ryukyu Islands, Japan
Magnitude: 6.5 (Ms)
Tsunami: Yes: the tsunami it caused
Epicenter: 26.200° N, 127.500° E
Country: Japan

The toll

Damage: Limited (under about $1 million) with its tsunami and other effects
Houses destroyed: 9 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:

1768, July 22, 12:00 local time. A rather strong earthquake was felt at Shyuri (Okinawa Island), and afterwards a tsunami of height of 0.6-1.2m was observed on the coast. The damage was slight. Two or three waves were recorded. Nine villages suffered damage on the coast of the Kerama Islands. Nine homes were destroyed. Both the earthquake and the tsunami were weak.

Iida et al. (1967): 26.2o N., 127.5o E.; m=1.

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

Significant earthquakes of 1768 The 1700s Recent earthquakes near here This 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 5915.