August 14, 1909 Earthquake: Oomi, Japan
A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck Oomi, Japan on August 14, 1909 at 06:30 UTC, 33 km below the surface. It killed 41 people.
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 14, 1909
- Time
- 06:30 UTC
- Place
- Oomi, Japan
- Magnitude
- 6.9 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 33 km (21 mi)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 35.400° N, 136.300° E
- Country
- Japan
The toll
- Deaths
- 41
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 976
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.
Aug 14, 1909, 35.5 N, 137 E, 976 houses destroyed, 41 deaths, near Anegawa, Oomi, [no tsunami listed]. (reference #1068)
Aug 14, 1909, 06:30 UTC, 35.4 N, 136.3 E, shallow depth, magnitude 6.9, 41 deaths, 976 houses destroyed. Tsunami height 1.8 m generated by subsidence of Biwa Lake side. (reference #150)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- January 18, 1586, Ise Bay, Japan
- October 27, 1891, Mino-Owari, Japan
- January 16, 1995, Kobe, Awaji-Shima, Nishinomiya, SW Honshu, Japan
- June 28, 1948, Fukui, Japan
- March 7, 1927, SW, Honshu, Japan
- January 12, 1945, S, Honshu, Japan
- October 28, 1707, Enshunada, Japan
- July 9, 1854, Iga, Ise, Yamato, Japan
- December 7, 1944, Off Southeast Coast Kii Peninsula, Japan
- June 16, 1662, Yamasiro, Japan
- December 17, 1096, Enshunada, Japan
- May 23, 1925, Tajima, Honshu, Japan
- August 19, 1830, Kyoto, Japan
- April 9, 1858, N, Hida, Japan
- April 28, 1714, Oomati, Japan
More
Significant earthquakes of 1909The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1909Recent 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 2886.