April 1, 1968 Earthquake: Kyushu, Shikoku, Japan
A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Kyushu, Shikoku, Japan on April 1, 1968 at 00:42:04 UTC, 30 km below the surface. It killed 1 person.
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
- April 1, 1968
- Time
- 00:42:04 UTC
- Place
- Kyushu, Shikoku, Japan
- Magnitude
- 7.5 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 30 km (19 mi)
- Intensity
- 7 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 32.300° N, 132.500° E
- Country
- Japan
The toll
- Deaths
- 1
- Injuries
- 22
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Some (about 51 to 100)
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 April 1, 1968 at 9:42 [local time] there was a strong magnitude 7.7 earthquake with a sub-latitudinal source 60 km long between Kyushu and and Shikoku Islands (32.6 N, 132.2 E, depth 40 km). It was felt with a force of up to 6-7 degrees (V degrees on the JMA scale) in the western part of Shikoku Island and in the eastern part of Kyushu
Island and caused some destruction. One person died and 22 were injured. A tsunami of moderate intensity occurred...It is conjectured that the earthquake was a consequence of gently sloping overthrust in a west to east direction.
Reference #45:
Minor property damage occurred at Kyushu, where one person died and 22 were injured. A 2.3 meter tsunami was generated on the east of Kyushu. It destroyed four homes and capsized several fishing boats. April 1, 1968 at 00:42:04.2 UTC, 32.5 N, 132.2 E, magnitude 7.5-7.75.
Reference #150:
April 1, 1968, 32.3 N, 132.5 E, depth 30 km, magnitude 7.5.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- 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
- August 6, 1984, Nobeoka, Kyushu, Japan
- July 28, 1889, Kumamoto, Japan
- June 2, 1905, Aki, Japan
- February 21, 1968, Kyushu, Japan
- November 18, 1941, Shikoku, Japan
- March 18, 1987, Miyazaki, Naze, Kyushu, Japan
- February 26, 1961, Miyazaki, Japan
- March 24, 2001, Hiroshima, Okayama, Honshu, Kagama, Japan
More
Significant earthquakes of 1968The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1968Recent 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 4432.