March 9, 1952 Earthquake: Hokkaido, Japan
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Hokkaido, Japan on March 9, 1952 at 17:03:00 UTC. It caused a tsunami.
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 9, 1952
- Time
- 17:03:00 UTC
- Place
- Hokkaido, Japan
- Magnitude
- 7.1
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 41.700° N, 142.500° E
- Country
- Japan
The toll
- Injuries
- 17
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 113
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:
1852, March 10, 2:04 local time. The strongest aftershock of the earthquake of March 4 affected Hokkaido Island and the northern part of Honshu Island. According to newspaper reports, there were 17 injured; 113 homes were destroyed, mainly those which had been damaged by the earthquake of March 4. The telephone line and railway service were cut.
Iida et al. (1967): 9.III; 17h04m; 41.7 N., 143.5 E.; 0-20 km; M=7, m=-2.5.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- March 8, 1766, Hirosaki, Japan
- July 31, 1640, Uchiura Bay, Japan
- March 21, 1982, Hokkaido, Urakawa, Hiroo, Japan
- May 16, 1968, Off East Coast of Honshu Island, Japan
- September 5, 2018, Hokkaido, Japan
- March 4, 1952, Hokkaido, Japan
- August 23, 1856, Oshima, Japan
- August 9, 1901, Off Northeast Coast Honshu, Japan
- December 28, 1994, Honshu, Japan
- September 25, 2003, Hokkaido, Japan
- May 21, 1962, Off Coast of Honshu Island, Japan
- May 16, 1968, Off Coast of Honshu Island, Japan
- March 11, 1763, N. Sanriku, Japan
- December 8, 2025, Misawa, Honshu, Japan
- June 13, 1943, SE. Hokkaido Island, 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 3995.