January 12, 1945 Earthquake: S, Honshu, Japan

Name: January 12, 1945 Earthquake: S, Honshu, Japan
Start: 1945-01-12
Location: S, Honshu, Japan

January 12, 1945 · M7.1 · 2,306 deaths · 7,221 houses destroyed

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck S, Honshu, Japan on January 12, 1945 at 18:38 UTC. It killed 2,306 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: January 12, 1945
Time: 18:38 UTC
Place: S, Honshu, Japan
Magnitude: 7.1 (Ms)
Tsunami: Yes: the tsunami it caused
Epicenter: 34.700° N, 137.200° E
Country: Japan

The toll

Deaths: 2,306
Injuries: 896
Damage: Extreme (about $25 million or more)
Houses destroyed: 7,221

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:

On January 13, 1945, at 3:38 [local time] there was an earthquake with source on the south of Aichi Prefecture. In Atsumi Bay, 5,539 homes were completely destroyed and 11,706 were partly destroyed as the result of the earthquake; 6,603 non-residential structures were completely destroyed and 9,976 were half destroyed. Some 1,961 people died and 896 were injured. The large number of victims is explained by the fact that during the war, the workers in the military plants lived in crowded conditions, in hostels. The earthquake caused a weak tsunami.

Reference #150:

Lists 2,306 deaths, 7,221 houses collapsed.

Reference #1152:

Lists 1180 deaths, severe damage.

Reference #1002:

Lists 1900 deaths, severe damage.

Reference #1136:

Lists 1961 deaths, 5539 homes destroyed.

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

Significant earthquakes of 1945 The 1900s Every quake the USGS located in 1945 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 3797.