March 2, 1933 Earthquake: Sanriku, Japan
A magnitude 8.4 earthquake struck Sanriku, Japan on March 2, 1933 at 17:31:00 UTC, 15 km below the surface. It killed 3,022 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
- March 2, 1933
- Time
- 17:31:00 UTC
- Place
- Sanriku, Japan
- Magnitude
- 8.4 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 15 km (9 mi)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 39.209° N, 144.590° E
- Country
- Japan
The toll
- Deaths
- 3,022 with its tsunami and other effects
- Damage
- Extreme (about $25 million or more) with its tsunami and other effects
- Houses destroyed
- Many (101 to 1,000); 6,000 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.
More than 6,000 structures and 12,000 ships and boats were washed away and destroyed. (Reference #414)
1933, March 2. 38.5 N, 143 E, 2,986 deaths, 4,086 houses destroyed, Sanriku, Great T. (Reference #1068)
1933, March 2, 17:30:54 UTC. 39.3 N, 144.5 E, shallow depth, magnitude 8.9 MS. (Reference #88)
1933, March 2, 17:30:54 UTC, 39.25 N, 144.5 E, magnitude 8.5 MS. (Reference #130)
1933, March 2, 17:31:0.92 UTC. 39.224 N, 144.622 E, depth 35 km, magnitude 8.4 Mw. (reference #9910)
1933, March 2, 17:31:0.16 UTC. 39.209 N, 144.59 E, depth 15 km, magnitude 8.5 Mw. (reference #10476)
1933, March 3, 02:31 local time. 39.233 N, 144.516 E, depth 10 km, magnitude 8.1 Mw. (reference #3785)
Magnitude 8.5 MS, 8.4 Mw. (Reference #1314)
1933, March 2, 17:31:00 UTC. 39.209 N, 144.59 E, depth 15 km, magnitude 8.4 Mw. (reference #13456, #13546)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- June 15, 1896, Sanriku, Japan
- December 2, 1611, Sanriku, Japan
- February 17, 1793, Sanriku,rikuzen,rikuchu, Japan
- December 6, 1616, Sanriku, Japan
- August 23, 1856, Oshima, Japan
- December 28, 1994, Honshu, Japan
- October 9, 1257, Sanriku, Japan
- March 23, 1960, Sanriku, Japan
- May 30, 1998, Sanriku, Japan
- April 13, 1677, Sanriku, Japan
- November 9, 2025, Off East Coast Honshu, Japan
- July 13, 869, Sanriku, Japan
- October 12, 1935, Sanriku, Japan
- July 18, 1992, Honshu Island, Japan
- October 29, 1989, N. Honshu Island, Japan
More
Significant earthquakes of 1933The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1933Recent 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 3512.