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Japan earthquakes in 1939

22 earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or more were located in Japan in 1939. The largest: M7.4 off the east coast of Honshu, Japan, Oct 11, 1939.

From the USGS catalog. Times are local to each quake.

19381940

Map

Where every quake of 1939 was located in Japan. Select one for its page.

Open the live map with earthquakes

Every quake of 1939

Magnitude 4.5 and up, newest first.

Month by month

Counted by UTC date, which is how the catalog files them.

MonthQuakesLargestWhere
January 193925.733 km E of Iwaki, Japan
February 193926.5103 km ESE of Iwaki, Japan
March 193926.713 km SSE of Nobeoka, Japan
April 193915.6Izu Islands, Japan region
May 193957.228 km W of Tenn?, Japan
June 193915.6Volcano Islands, Japan region
July 193945.9Bonin Islands, Japan region
August 193916.098 km E of Namie, Japan
September 19390
October 193927.4off the east coast of Honshu, Japan
November 19390
December 193925.766 km SE of ?funato, Japan

What this means

The catalog is only as complete as the instruments of the time. Worldwide coverage of magnitude 5 and up dates from the 1960s, and of 4.5 from the 1990s; earlier years hold the large quakes and the ones near a station, so a low count in an early year means fewer instruments, not a quiet earth.

By year

Every year the USGS catalog covers.

Nearby

Japan nowWorldwide in 1939

Sources

Earthquakes, magnitudes, depths, shaking estimates and felt reports from the U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program, read from its live feeds and its catalog back to 1900. Tsunami messages from NOAA’s tsunami warning centers.