March 4, 1952 Earthquake: Hokkaido, Japan
A magnitude 8.1 earthquake struck Hokkaido, Japan on March 4, 1952 at 01:22:41 UTC, 45 km below the surface. It killed 33 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 4, 1952
- Time
- 01:22:41 UTC
- Place
- Hokkaido, Japan
- Magnitude
- 8.1 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 45 km (28 mi)
- Intensity
- 9 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 42.150° N, 143.850° E
- Country
- Japan
The toll
- Deaths
- 33
- Injuries
- Many (about 101 to 1,000); 572 with its tsunami and other effects
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Many (101 to 1,000); 2,422 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.
Reference #414:
1952, March 4. A strong earthquake off the southeast coast of Hokkaido Island at 10:23 Local Time, generated a tsunami of moderate intensity. The source was situated on the shelf near Cape Erimo and was 100 km long. The earthquake was felt all over Hokkaido Island, on the northeast half of Honshu Island, and in the Kuril Islands. Maximum intensity VI (JMA) [IX MMI] was observed in the the lower Tokachi River valley. 5-15% of the homes were destroyed in Ikeda, Toyokoro, Urahoro, and Ootsu. Considerable destruction occurred in the Tokachi, Kushiro and Hidaka regions. The oscillations lasted about 5 minutes.
Many aftershocks were registered; 908 before the end of March. During the earthquake, the southeast coast of Hokkaido Island rose several tens of centimeters.
The earthquake and tsunami did major damage in Japan; 815 homes were completely destroyed, 1,324 were half destroyed, 6,395 were slightly damaged, 14 were burned, 91 were washed away, 328 homes and 1,621 non-residential buildings were flooded. Many ships were destroyed, and roads and railway lines were damaged. Twenty-eight people died, 5 people were missing and 287 people were injured.
Different Reports of Epicenters
LatitudeLongitudeReference #42.2N143.8E414 and 7942.15N143.85E15042.2N43.9E23642.5N143.5E45
Different Reports of EEffects
Houses Completely
DestroyedHouses Half
DestroyedHouses
DamagedReference #242259804581513246395414
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- March 21, 1982, Hokkaido, Urakawa, Hiroo, Japan
- May 16, 1968, Off East Coast of Honshu Island, Japan
- April 25, 1843, Yezo, Kushiro, Nemuro, Hokkaido, Japan
- September 5, 2018, Hokkaido, Japan
- June 17, 1973, Hokkaido Island, Japan
- August 23, 1856, Oshima, Japan
- December 28, 1994, Honshu, Japan
- September 25, 2003, Hokkaido, Japan
- January 15, 1993, Hokkadio, Kushiro, Hachinohe, Honshu, Japan
- May 28, 1938, E. Hokkaido Island, Japan
- March 22, 1894, Off Coast of Honshu, Japan
- April 23, 1962, SE. Hokkaido Island, Japan
- September 11, 2008, Hokkaido, Japan
- August 2, 1971, Japan Trench
- May 22, 1910, Hokkaido, Japan
More
Significant earthquakes of 1952The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1952Recent 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 3993.