March 15, 1914 Earthquake: Senhoku, Japan

Name: March 15, 1914 Earthquake: Senhoku, Japan
Start: 1914-03-15
Location: Senhoku, Japan

March 15, 1914 · M7.2 · 94 deaths · 640 houses destroyed

A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Senhoku, Japan on March 15, 1914 at 20:00:06 UTC, 33 km below the surface. It killed 94 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: March 15, 1914
Time: 20:00:06 UTC
Place: Senhoku, Japan
Magnitude: 7.2 (Ms)
Focal depth: 33 km (21 mi)
Tsunami: None recorded
Epicenter: 39.200° N, 139.800° E
Country: Japan

The toll

Deaths: 94
Damage: Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
Houses destroyed: 640

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 #88 lists earthquake on March 14, 1914, 20:00:06 UTC, 39.2 N, 139.8 E, magnitude 7.2, shallow depth.

Reference #1068 lists earthquake on March 15, 1914, 39.5 N, 140 E, 94 deaths, 640 houses destroyed, in Senhoku, Ugo.

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

Significant earthquakes of 1914 The 1900s Every quake the USGS located in 1914 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 2999.