February 17, 1793 Earthquake: Sanriku,rikuzen,rikuchu, Japan
A magnitude 8.3 earthquake struck Sanriku,rikuzen,rikuchu, Japan on February 17, 1793. It killed 745 people, counting the tsunami it caused.
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
- February 17, 1793
- Place
- Sanriku,rikuzen,rikuchu, Japan
- Magnitude
- 8.3 (Ms)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 38.500° N, 144.000° E
- Country
- Japan
The toll
- Deaths
- 25; 745 with its tsunami and other effects
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 1,060; 1,160 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:
On Feb 2, 1793, there was an earthquake at Sanriku, which
caused catastrophic tsunami waves on the coast of Iwate and Miyagi Prefectures (at Ozuchi, Ryoishi, Kamaishi, Ofunato, Kesennuma, Okachi and other places).
Reference #150:
1793, Feb 17. 38.5 N, 144 E, magnitude 8.25. 25 deaths, more than 1,060 houses damaged in Sendai area. Tsunami along the coast of Iwate and Miyagi Pref. Hachinohe 1.5m, Yamada 3.5m, Ootsuchi 2.5m, Ryoishi 4.5m, Ofunato 3m, Okachi 2.5m.
Reference #1065:
1793, Feb 17. Southern and central parts of Sanriku (Rikuzen and Rikuchu). 38.3 N, 142.4 E, magnitude 7.1. The strong shock destroyed about 1,060 houses and killed 12 persons. The tsunami washed away 17 houses and 12 or 13 persons. The maximum height of the tsunami at Ohfunato was about 3 m.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- June 15, 1896, Sanriku, Japan
- March 11, 2011, Honshu, Japan
- December 2, 1611, Sanriku, Japan
- March 2, 1933, Sanriku, Japan
- December 6, 1616, Sanriku, Japan
- July 6, 1905, Off Fukushima, Japan
- June 12, 1978, Sanriku, Japan
- October 2, 1678, Sanriku,rikuchu, Japan
- July 13, 869, Sanriku, Japan
- October 9, 1257, Sanriku, Japan
- August 5, 1897, Sanriku, Japan
- December 7, 2012, Miyagi Prefecture, Honshu, Japan
- March 11, 2011, Off East Coast Honshu, Japan
- May 30, 1998, Sanriku, Japan
- July 10, 2011, E Coast, Honshu, Japan
More
Significant earthquakes of 1793The 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 1521.