November 1, 1989 Earthquake: N, Aomori, Misawa, Honshu, Japan

Date

November 1, 1989

Time

18:25:34 UTC

Place

N, Aomori, Misawa, Honshu, Japan

Magnitude

7.4 (Ms)

Focal depth

29 km (18 mi)

Intensity

6 on the Modified Mercalli scale

Tsunami

Yes: the tsunami it caused

Epicenter

39.837° N, 142.760° E

Country

Japan

Damage

Limited (under about $1 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 · 113 km
• March 11, 2011, Honshu, JapanM9.1 · 18,423 deaths · $220 billion · 123,661 houses destroyed · 174 km
• December 2, 1611, Sanriku, JapanM8.1 · 5,000 deaths · 176 km
• March 2, 1933, Sanriku, JapanM8.4 · 3,022 deaths · 6,000 houses destroyed · 172 km
• February 17, 1793, Sanriku,rikuzen,rikuchu, JapanM8.3 · 745 deaths · 1,160 houses destroyed · 183 km
• August 31, 1896, Senhoku, Ugo, Japan206 deaths · 5,911 houses destroyed · 151 km
• December 6, 1616, Sanriku, JapanM7.5 · 200 deaths · 176 km
• May 16, 1968, Off East Coast of Honshu Island, JapanM8.2 · 52 deaths · $131 million · 1,218 houses destroyed · 113 km
• June 12, 1978, Sanriku, JapanM7.7 · 28 deaths · $865 million · 194 km
• August 23, 1856, Oshima, JapanM8 · 26 deaths · 193 houses destroyed · 97 km
• June 13, 2008, Tokyo, Honshu, JapanM6.9 · 23 deaths · 185 km
• August 9, 1901, Off Northeast Coast Honshu, JapanM8.2 · 18 deaths · 8 houses destroyed · 93 km
• December 28, 1994, Honshu, JapanM7.8 · 3 deaths · $170.4 million · 95 km
• July 23, 2008, N, Honshu, JapanM6.8 · 1 death · 111 km
• October 2, 1678, Sanriku,rikuchu, JapanM7.4 · 1 death · 152 km

Significant earthquakes of 1989The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1989Recent 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 5217.