July 25, 2003 Earthquake: Miyagi, Iwate, Honshu, Japan
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck Miyagi, Iwate, Honshu, Japan on July 25, 2003 at 15:13:07 UTC, 10 km below the surface.
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
- July 25, 2003
- Time
- 15:13:07 UTC
- Place
- Miyagi, Iwate, Honshu, Japan
- Magnitude
- 5.5 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 10 km (6 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 38.432° N, 141.003° E
- Country
- Japan
The toll
- Injuries
- 569
- Damage
- $411 million
- Houses damaged
- 1,025
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.
At least 569 people injured, 1,025 buildings damaged or destroyed, some roads damaged and power outages and landslides occurred in Miyagi Prefecture. A train derailed on the JR Ishinomaki Line. Recorded (6L JMA) in Miyagi; (4 JMA) in Iwate; (3 JMA) in Akita, Aomori, Fukushima and Yamagata; (2 JMA) in Ibaraki, Niigata and Tochigi; (1 JMA) in Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama Prefectures. Also recorded (1 JMA) on Sadoga-shima. This includes impacts from the earthquake on 25 July 22:13:29.9 UTC, 38.415 N 140.996 E, 6.1 Mw. (reference #1053)
$411 million damage, 569 injured (reference #1250)
849 injured, 1.9 billion USD in economic loss from magnitude 5.5 event; 1.25 billion USD in economic loss from magnitude 6.1 event (reference #13727)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- March 11, 2011, Honshu, Japan
- September 27, 1611, Aidu, Japan
- December 18, 1828, Sandyo IN Etigo, Japan
- July 10, 1804, Kisakata, Japan
- August 31, 1896, Senhoku, Ugo, Japan
- October 18, 1644, NW. Honshu Island, Japan
- March 15, 1914, Senhoku, Japan
- December 7, 1833, NW, Honshu, Japan
- September 25, 1810, Oga, Japan
- July 6, 1905, Off Fukushima, Japan
- April 21, 1659, Aidu, Japan
- June 16, 1964, W Coast, Honshu, Japan
- June 12, 1978, Sanriku, Japan
- June 13, 2008, Tokyo, Honshu, Japan
- April 11, 2011, Honshu, Japan
More
Significant earthquakes of 2003The 2000sEvery quake the USGS located in 2003Recent 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 5708.