March 11, 1958 Earthquake: Ryukyu Islands, Japan

Name: March 11, 1958 Earthquake: Ryukyu Islands, Japan
Start: 1958-03-11
Location: Ryukyu Islands, Japan

March 11, 1958 · M7.5 · Deaths: some

A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Ryukyu Islands, Japan on March 11, 1958 at 00:22:56 UTC, 70 km below the surface.

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 11, 1958
Time: 00:22:56 UTC
Place: Ryukyu Islands, Japan
Magnitude: 7.5 (Ms)
Focal depth: 70 km (43 mi)
Tsunami: None recorded
Epicenter: 25.000° N, 125.000° E
Country: Japan
Region: East Asia
USGS record: The USGS’s page for this earthquake

The toll

Deaths: Some (about 51 to 100)
Injuries: Many (about 101 to 1,000)

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.

March 11, 1958, 00:22:56 UTC, Ryukyu Islands, 25 N, 125 E, depth about 70 km, magnitude 7.5. Several killed and many injured on Okinawa; fissuring on Miyako and Ishigaki. Felt on Batan islands. (reference #45)

March 11, 1958, 00:25:56 UTC, 25.5 N, 125 E, depth 70 km, magnitude 7.5. (reference #88)

March 11, 1958, 08:26:06 local time, Off the south coast of Chiwei Islet, Taiwan Province, 25.1 124.4 E, magnitude 7. (reference #3939)

Sources NCEI cites

The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.

#88 Duda, Seweryn J. (1965). Secular seismic energy release in the circum-Pacific belt. Tectonophysics, vol. 2, no. 5, p. 409-452. DOI:10.1016/0040-1951(65)90035-1
#45 U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey and U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (1928-1986). United States Earthquakes, Annual publication, published 1928-1986. vol.s for 1928-1965 issued by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey; volumes for 1966-1969 issued by the National Earthquake Information Center; volume for 1970 issued by the National Geophysical Data Center; volumes for 1971-1972 issued by the National Geophysical And Solar-Terrestrial Data Center; volumes for 1973-1980 published jointly by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Geological Survey; volumes for 1981-1986 published by the U.S. Geological Survey. [on shelf]
#3939 Gu Gongxu, Zhou Wenfu, and Wang Renlong (eds.) (1989). Catalogue of Chinese Earthquakes (1831 B.C. - 1969 A.D.). Science Press, Beijing, China; English translation by Li Zengquan et al. provided through UNESCO, 872 pages.

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

Significant earthquakes of 1958 The 1900s Every quake the USGS located in 1958 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 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 4165. The written accounts and the magnitude estimates are from the USGS earthquake catalog, event iscgem883985, matched to this record by time, place and magnitude.