May 30, 1998 Earthquake: Sanriku, Japan
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck Sanriku, Japan on May 30, 1998 at 18:18:15 UTC, 33 km below the surface. It caused a tsunami.
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
- May 30, 1998
- Time
- 18:18:15 UTC
- Place
- Sanriku, Japan
- Magnitude
- 6.2 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 33 km (21 mi)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 39.027° N, 143.441° E
- Country
- Japan
The toll
The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this earthquake.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
On 30 May 1998, a moderate earthquake (Mw 6.1) occurred off the Sanriku region and our ocean bottom observatories detected a small amplitude tsunami generated by this earthquake. The epicenter is almost at the oceanward limit of the interplate seismicity [Suyehiro and Nishizawa, 1994], and within the source region of the 1896 tsunami earthquake. Tanioka and Satake[ 1996] discussed that a subducted sediment in the trench inner wall region may be a cause of unusual slow rupture of the 1896 earthquake. If that is the case, the 1998 earthquakes might generate larger tsunami than that expected from its seismic moment. (reference #12661)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- June 15, 1896, Sanriku, Japan
- March 11, 2011, Honshu, Japan
- December 2, 1611, Sanriku, Japan
- March 2, 1933, Sanriku, Japan
- February 17, 1793, Sanriku,rikuzen,rikuchu, Japan
- December 6, 1616, Sanriku, Japan
- July 6, 1905, Off Fukushima, Japan
- May 16, 1968, Off East Coast of Honshu Island, Japan
- June 12, 1978, Sanriku, Japan
- August 23, 1856, Oshima, Japan
- December 28, 1994, Honshu, Japan
- April 7, 2011, Near E Coast Honshu, Japan
- October 2, 1678, Sanriku,rikuchu, Japan
- July 23, 2008, N, Honshu, Japan
- August 16, 1897, Japan
More
Significant earthquakes of 1998The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1998Recent 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 10482.