February 20, 1978 Earthquake: Ofunato, Tohoku, Japan

Date

February 20, 1978

Time

04:36:58 UTC

Place

Ofunato, Tohoku, Japan

Magnitude

6.1 (mb)

Focal depth

60 km (37 mi)

Intensity

8 on the Modified Mercalli scale

Tsunami

None recorded

Epicenter

38.780° N, 141.950° E

Country

Japan

Injuries

30

Damage

Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)

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.

• June 15, 1896, Sanriku, JapanM8.3 · 27,122 deaths · 11,000 houses destroyed · 194 km
• March 11, 2011, Honshu, JapanM9.1 · 18,423 deaths · $220 billion · 123,661 houses destroyed · 65 km
• February 17, 1793, Sanriku,rikuzen,rikuchu, JapanM8.3 · 745 deaths · 1,160 houses destroyed · 181 km
• July 10, 1804, Kisakata, JapanM7.3 · 450 deaths · 10,810 houses destroyed · 176 km
• August 31, 1896, Senhoku, Ugo, Japan206 deaths · 5,911 houses destroyed · 158 km
• October 18, 1644, NW. Honshu Island, JapanM6.9 · 117 deaths · 28 houses destroyed · 174 km
• March 15, 1914, Senhoku, JapanM7.2 · 94 deaths · 640 houses destroyed · 192 km
• July 6, 1905, Off Fukushima, JapanM7 · 57 deaths · 164 km
• June 12, 1978, Sanriku, JapanM7.7 · 28 deaths · $865 million · 66 km
• June 13, 2008, Tokyo, Honshu, JapanM6.9 · 23 deaths · 97 km
• March 16, 2022, Off Fukushima, JapanM7.3 · 4 deaths · $8.8 billion · 217 houses destroyed · 123 km
• April 7, 2011, Near E Coast Honshu, JapanM7.1 · 3 deaths · 64 km
• October 2, 1678, Sanriku,rikuchu, JapanM7.4 · 1 death · 20 km
• April 30, 1962, Sendai, Honshu, JapanM6.8 · 1 death · 91 km
• February 13, 2021, Off Fukushima, JapanM7.1 · 1 death · $7.7 billion · 798 houses destroyed · 116 km

Significant earthquakes of 1978The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1978Recent 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 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 4791.