November 18, 1941 Earthquake: Shikoku, Japan
A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck Shikoku, Japan on November 18, 1941 at 16:46 UTC, 10 km below the surface. It killed 2 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
- November 18, 1941
- Time
- 16:46 UTC
- Place
- Shikoku, Japan
- Magnitude
- 7.4 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 10 km (6 mi)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 32.000° N, 132.100° E
- Country
- Japan
The toll
- Deaths
- 2 with its tsunami and other effects
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 27 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.
There was a strong earthquake (Nov 18 1646 UTC, 32.6N, 132.1E, 0-20 km depth, magnitude 7.4) with source in Huyga-Nada, about 40 km northeast of Miyazaki. It was felt in a vast zone, including the greater part of Kyushu and Shikoku Islands and in the center of Honshu Island. The tremors were especially intensive (IV-V degrees JMA) on Kyushu Island in the southwestern part of Shikoku Island. The street lights were destroyed or damaged at several places, and the telephone lines were cut in the prefectures of Miyazaki, Oita and Kagoshima, which are close to the source; the residents ran to the streets in panic.
A tsunami 1 m high was observed along the eastern coast of Kyushu Island and the south coast of Shikoku Island.
(reference #414)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- May 21, 1792, Kyusyu Island, Japan
- June 30, 744, Shimabara, Yatsushiro, Higo, Japan
- September 4, 1596, Beppu Bay, Japan
- April 15, 2016, Kumamoto, Oita, Japan
- October 30, 1662, Hiuganada, Japan
- January 12, 1914, Sakurijima, Japan
- September 10, 1597, Beppu Bay, Japan
- July 28, 2026, Kumamoto, Japan
- December 7, 1922, Kyushu, Japan
- August 6, 1984, Nobeoka, Kyushu, Japan
- July 28, 1889, Kumamoto, Japan
- February 21, 1968, Kyushu, Japan
- March 18, 1987, Miyazaki, Naze, Kyushu, Japan
- February 26, 1961, Miyazaki, Japan
- March 20, 1939, Seikaido, Japan
More
Significant earthquakes of 1941The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1941Recent 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 3688.