April 21, 1969 Earthquake: Ryukyu Islands, Japan

Date

April 21, 1969

Time

07:19 UTC

Place

Ryukyu Islands, Japan

Focal depth

41 km (25 mi)

Tsunami

Yes: the tsunami it caused

Epicenter

32.200° N, 132.100° E

Country

Japan

Region

East Asia

USGS record

The USGS’s page for this earthquake

The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this earthquake.

1. #150 Iida, Kumizi (1984). Catalog of tsunamis in Japan and its neighboring countries. Aichi Institute of Technology, Yachigusa, Yakusa-cho, Toyota-shi, 470-03, Japan, 52 p.

• May 21, 1792, Kyusyu Island, JapanM6.4 · 15,030 deaths · 6,200 houses destroyed · 182 km
• June 30, 744, Shimabara, Yatsushiro, Higo, JapanM6.4 · 1,520 deaths · 470 houses destroyed · 152 km
• September 4, 1596, Beppu Bay, JapanM6.9 · 708 deaths · 80 houses destroyed · 128 km
• April 15, 2016, Kumamoto, Oita, JapanM7 · 273 deaths · $20 billion · 43,386 houses destroyed · 142 km
• October 30, 1662, Hiuganada, JapanM7.9 · 200 deaths · 2,500 houses destroyed · 56 km
• January 12, 1914, Sakurijima, JapanM7.1 · 63 deaths · $19 million · 2,268 houses destroyed · 152 km
• September 10, 1597, Beppu Bay, JapanM6.4 · 40 deaths · 131 km
• July 28, 2026, Kumamoto, JapanM6.8 · 38 deaths · 3,539 houses destroyed · 140 km
• December 7, 1922, Kyushu, Japan27 deaths · 178 km
• August 6, 1984, Nobeoka, Kyushu, JapanM6.7 · 20 deaths · 25 km
• July 28, 1889, Kumamoto, JapanM6.3 · 20 deaths · 239 houses destroyed · 147 km
• February 21, 1968, Kyushu, JapanM6.3 · 3 deaths · 143 km
• November 18, 1941, Shikoku, JapanM7.4 · 2 deaths · 27 houses destroyed · 22 km
• March 18, 1987, Miyazaki, Naze, Kyushu, JapanM6.7 · 2 deaths · 31 km
• February 26, 1961, Miyazaki, JapanM7.3 · 2 deaths · 170 houses destroyed · 72 km

Significant earthquakes of 1969The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1969Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history

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 6425. The written accounts and the magnitude estimates are from the USGS earthquake catalog, event iscgem810045, matched to this record by time, place and magnitude.