August 5, 1897 Earthquake: Sanriku, Japan
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck Sanriku, Japan on August 5, 1897 at 00:10:00 UTC. 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
- August 5, 1897
- Time
- 00:10:00 UTC
- Place
- Sanriku, Japan
- Magnitude
- 7.7 (Ms)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 38.000° N, 143.700° E
- Country
- Japan
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 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.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Reference #414:
August 5, 1897, 9:12 [local time]. There was an earthquake with source off the coast of Sanriku. It caused a tsunami which was observed all along this coast and which caused minor destruction.
Iida et al. (1967): 38o N., 143.7o E.; M=7.7, m=1.
Reference #150:
August 5, 1897, 09:10 [local time], 38 N, 143.7 E, magnitude 7.7, tsunami intensity 1.5.
Some damage by quake.
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
- February 17, 1793, Sanriku,rikuzen,rikuchu, Japan
- December 6, 1616, Sanriku, Japan
- July 6, 1905, Off Fukushima, Japan
- June 12, 1978, Sanriku, Japan
- March 16, 2022, Off Fukushima, Japan
- April 7, 2011, Near E Coast Honshu, Japan
- October 2, 1678, Sanriku,rikuchu, Japan
- February 13, 2021, Off Fukushima, Japan
- December 7, 2012, Miyagi Prefecture, Honshu, Japan
- July 10, 2011, E Coast, Honshu, Japan
- July 13, 869, Sanriku, Japan
More
Significant earthquakes of 1897The 1800sRecent 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 2514.