List of earthquakes in 1923

Earthquakes in 1923

Approximate epicenters of the earthquakes in 1923 5.0−5.9 magnitude 6.0−6.9 magnitude 7.0−7.9 magnitude 8.0+ magnitude
Strongest magnitude	eastern Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia February 3 (Magnitude 8.4)
Deadliest	Kanagawa Prefecture, Honshu, Japan September 1 (Magnitude 8.1) 186,283 deaths
Total fatalities	193,202
Number by magnitude
9.0+	0
8.0−8.9	2
7.0−7.9	15
6.0−6.9	51
5.0−5.9	2
← 1922 1924 →

This is a list of earthquakes in 1923. Only magnitude 6.0 or greater earthquakes appear on the list. Lower magnitude events are included if they have caused death, injury or damage. Events which occurred in remote areas will be excluded from the list as they wouldn't have generated significant media interest. All dates are listed according to UTC time. 1923 was a memorable year. Amongst the events was the great Tokyo, Japan earthquake. Other destructive earthquakes struck China, Iran, Colombia and Russia. The Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia and Japan saw very much activity this year.

Overall

By death toll

Rank	Death toll	Magnitude	Location	Depth (km)	Date
7000100000000000000♠1	7005186283000000000♠186,283	7000810000000000000♠8.1	Kanagawa Prefecture, Honshu, Japan	7001150000000000000♠15.0	000000002016-09-01-0000September 1
7000200000000000000♠2	7003350000000000000♠3,500	7000700000000000000♠7.0	Sichuan Province, China	7001150000000000000♠15.0	000000002016-03-24-0000March 24
7000300000000000000♠3	7003220000000000000♠2,200	7000570000000000000♠5.7	Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran	5000000000000000000♠0.0	000000002016-05-25-0000May 25
7000400000000000000♠4	7002418000000000000♠418	7000680000000000000♠6.8	eastern Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia	7001350000000000000♠35.0	000000002016-04-13-0000April 13
7000500000000000000♠5	7002300000000000000♠300	7000530000000000000♠5.3	Narino Department, Colombia	5000000000000000000♠0.0	000000002016-12-14-0000December 14
7000600000000000000♠6	7002290000000000000♠290	7000680000000000000♠6.8	Kerman Province, Iran	7001150000000000000♠15.0	000000002016-09-22-0000September 22
7000700000000000000♠7	7002157000000000000♠157	7000640000000000000♠6.4	Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran	7001150000000000000♠15.0	000000002016-09-17-0000September 17
7000800000000000000♠8	7001510000000000000♠51	7000680000000000000♠6.8	Pichincha Province, Ecuador	5000000000000000000♠0.0	000000002016-02-24-0000February 24

• Note: At least 10 casualties

By magnitude

Rank	Magnitude	Death toll	Location	Depth (km)	Date
7000100000000000000♠1	7000840000000000000♠8.4	7000300000000000000♠3	eastern Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia	7001150000000000000♠15.0	000000002016-02-03-0000February 3
7000200000000000000♠2	7000810000000000000♠8.1	7005186283000000000♠186,283	Kanagawa Prefecture, Honshu, Japan	7001150000000000000♠15.0	000000002016-09-01-0000September 1
7000300000000000000♠3	7000780000000000000♠7.8	5000000000000000000♠0	Chiba Prefecture, Honshu, Japan	7001150000000000000♠15.0	000000002016-09-02-0000September 2
7000400000000000000♠4	7000740000000000000♠7.4	5000000000000000000♠0	Raja Ampat Islands, Indonesia	7001150000000000000♠15.0	000000002016-10-07-0000October 7
7000500000000000000♠5	7000730000000000000♠7.3	5000000000000000000♠0	off the east coast of Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia	7001150000000000000♠15.0	000000002016-02-24-0000February 24
7000500000000000000♠5	7000730000000000000♠7.3	5000000000000000000♠0	off the south coast of Honshu, Japan	7001350000000000000♠35.0	000000002016-09-01-0000September 1
7000600000000000000♠6	7000720000000000000♠7.2	5000000000000000000♠0	off the east coast of Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia	7001350000000000000♠35.0	000000002016-02-02-0000February 2
7000600000000000000♠6	7000720000000000000♠7.2	5000000000000000000♠0	Shan State, Burma	7001250000000000000♠25.0	000000002016-06-22-0000June 22
7000600000000000000♠6	7000720000000000000♠7.2	5000000000000000000♠0	northwest of Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea	7002145100000000000♠145.1	000000002016-11-02-0000November 2
7000700000000000000♠7	7000710000000000000♠7.1	5000000000000000000♠0	off the east coast of Honshu, Japan	7001350000000000000♠35.0	000000002016-06-01-0000June 1
7000700000000000000♠7	7000710000000000000♠7.1	5000000000000000000♠0	off the south coast of Honshu, Japan	7001350000000000000♠35.0	000000002016-09-02-0000September 2
7000800000000000000♠8	7000700000000000000♠7.0	5000000000000000000♠0	Mindanao, Philippines	7001150000000000000♠15.0	000000002016-03-02-0000March 2
7000800000000000000♠8	7000700000000000000♠7.0	7003350000000000000♠3,500	Sichuan Province, China	7001150000000000000♠15.0	000000002016-03-24-0000March 24
7000800000000000000♠8	7000700000000000000♠7.0	5000000000000000000♠0	south of the Alaska Peninsula	7001250000000000000♠25.0	000000002016-05-04-0000May 4
7000800000000000000♠8	7000700000000000000♠7.0	5000000000000000000♠0	south of Kyushu, Japan	7001350000000000000♠35.0	000000002016-07-13-0000July 13
7000800000000000000♠8	7000700000000000000♠7.0	5000000000000000000♠0	Tokyo Bay, Honshu, Japan	7001350000000000000♠35.0	000000002016-09-01-0000September 1
7000800000000000000♠8	7000700000000000000♠7.0	5000000000000000000♠0	southeast New Ireland (island), Papua New Guinea	7001350000000000000♠35.0	000000002016-11-04-0000November 4

• Note: At least 7.0 magnitude

Notable events

January–March

• A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck off the coast of northern California on January 22 at a depth of 15.0 km.^[1] Some damage was caused in the area.^[2]
• A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck southeast of the Loyalty Islands on February 1 at a depth of 30.0 km.^[3]
• A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck off the east coast of Kamchatka, Russia on February 2 at a depth of 15.0 km. This was a large foreshock to events that came in the following days.^[4]
• A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck off the east coast of Kamchatka, Russia on February 2 at a depth of 35.0 km.^[5]
• A magnitude 8.4 earthquake struck the eastern Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia on February 3 at a depth of 15.0 km.^[6] A large tsunami was generated which caused destruction as far away as Hawaii. Three deaths were reported. Two were in Russia with the third being in Hawaii. Damage costs from the tsunami were approximately $1.5 million (1923 rate).^[7] The earthquake itself also caused destruction to a few homes.^[8]
• A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck the Central Sulawesi, Indonesia on February 23 at a depth of 35.0 km.^[9]
• A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Pichincha Province, Ecuador on February 24 at an unknown depth. At least 51 deaths were reported in the area.^[10]
• A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck off the east coast of Kamchatka, Russia on February 24 at a depth of 15.0 km.^[11] This was a little further to the northeast of the larger event on February 3.
• A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck central Mindanao, Philippines on March 2 at a depth of 15.0 km.^[12]
• A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck southeast of Mindanao, Philippines on March 14 at a depth of 35.0 km.^[13]
• A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck southeast of Mindanao, Philippines on March 16 at a depth of 35.0 km.^[14]
• A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Sichuan Province, China on March 24 at a depth of 15.0 km.^[15] Three-thousand five-hundred people were killed and scores of homes were destroyed.^[16]

April–June

• A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck the eastern Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia on April 13 at a depth of 35.0 km.^[17] Eighteen people were killed with another 400 missing due to a large tsunami striking the coast. On the Kamchatka Peninsula 18 people died whilst near Korea at least 400 were missing presumed dead. Major damage was reported with some buildings being destroyed.^[18][19]
• A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Kalimantan, Indonesia on April 19 at a depth of 35.0 km.^[20]
• A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck the Ryukyu Islands, Japan on April 23 at a depth of 20.0 km.^[21]
• A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck south of the Alaska Peninsula on May 4 at a depth of 25.0 km.^[22]
• A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Atacama Region, Chile on May 4 at a depth of 35.0 km.^[23] Some homes were damaged or destroyed in the area.^[24]
• A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the southwest coast of Java, Indonesia on May 12 at a depth of 25.0 km.^[25]
• An earthquake struck off the south coast of central Java, Indonesia on May 15. The magnitude and depth were unknown. Some damage was reported in the area.^[26]
• A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck off the east coast of Kamchatka, Russia on May 23 at a depth of 15.0 km.^[27]
• A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran on May 25 at an unknown depth. Two-thousand two-hundred deaths were caused by the quake; a disproportionately high toll considering its moderate magnitude.^[28]
• A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck off the east coast of Honshu, Japan on June 1 at a depth of 15.0 km.^[29]
• A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck off the east coast of Honshu, Japan on June 1 at a depth of 35.0 km.^[30] This event came just under three hours after the previous one and can be considered a doublet earthquake. Another point to note is that these events came exactly three months before the catastrophic 1923 Great Kanto earthquake.
• A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Tonga on June 18 at a depth of 15.0 km.^[31]
• A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Shan State, Burma on June 22 at a depth of 25.0 km.^[32]

July–September

• A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck north of Taiwan on July 2 at a depth of 25.0 km.^[33]
• A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck just north of Vanua Levu, Fiji on July 12 at a depth of 15.0 km.^[34]
• A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off the south coast of Kyushu, Japan on July 13 at a depth of 35.0 km.^[35]
• A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck just east of Tanegashima, Japan on July 13 at a depth of 35.0 km. This appears to have been an aftershock of the earlier event.^[36]
• A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck south of Loma Linda, California on July 23 at a depth of 35.0 km.^[37] Two people were injured in the earthquake and some relatively minor damage was caused.^[38]
• A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck south of Crete, Greece on August 1 at a depth of 35.0 km.^[39]
• A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Sucre, Venezuela on August 8 at a depth of 110.0 km.^[40]
• A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Sabah, Malaysia on August 11 at a depth of 35.0 km.^[41]
• A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck the Ryukyu Islands, Japan on August 12 at a depth of 35.0 km.^[42]
• A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck the Gulf of California, Mexico on August 28 at a depth of 10.0 km.^[43]
• A magnitude 8.1 earthquake struck Kanagawa Prefecture, Honshu, Japan on September 1 at a depth of 15.0 km.^[44] The human and material cost of the earthquake and subsequent fires was staggering. The death toll was 142,807 with another 43,476 people missing. Another 47,000 were injured. The damage costs were approximately $600 million (1923 rate) and the disaster led to 695,000 homes being destroyed. Many aftershocks followed in the weeks after the mainshock.^[45]
• The biggest aftershocks (until December 31, 1923) of the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake are displayed in the following table:

• A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Beni Department, Bolivia on September 2 at a depth of 35.0 km.^[58]
• A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Netrokona District, Bangladesh on September 9 at a depth of 15.0 km.^[59]
• A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck Zavkhan Province, Mongolia on September 14 at a depth of 35.0 km.^[60]
• A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Papua (province), Indonesia on September 16 at a depth of 35.0 km.^[61]
• A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran on September 17 at a depth of 15.0 km.^[62] One-hundred and fifty-seven deaths were reported as well as major damage.^[63]
• A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Kerman Province, Iran on September 22 at a depth of 15.0 km.^[64] Two-hundred and ninety people died. This was the 2nd fatal earthquake in Iran in five days.^[65]

October–December

• A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Punjab, Pakistan on October 1 at a depth of 15.0 km.^[66]
• A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck the Raja Ampat Islands, Indonesia on October 7 at a depth of 15.0 km.^[67]
• A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck the Greenland Sea north of Jan Mayen on October 10 at a depth of 15.0 km.^[68]
• A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck the southern end of Sumba, Indonesia on October 15 at a depth of 35.0 km.^[69]
• A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck northwest of Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea on November 2 at a depth of 145.1 km.^[70]
• A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck the Gulf of Gonave, Haiti on November 3 at a depth of 35.0 km.^[71]
• A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck the Ryukyu Islands, Japan on November 3 at a depth of 35.0 km.^[72]
• A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck southeast New Ireland (island), Papua New Guinea on November 4 at a depth of 35.0 km.^[73]
• A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck the Ryukyu Islands, Japan on November 5 at a depth of 35.0 km.^[74]
• A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck Araucania Region, Chile on November 6 at a depth of 35.0 km.^[75]
• A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck the Ryukyu Islands, Japan on November 6 at a depth of 35.0 km.^[76]
• A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck east of Taiwan on November 18 at a depth of 25.0 km.^[77]
• A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck just south of Shikoku, Japan on December 4 at a depth of 5.0 km.^[78]
• A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck the Aegean Sea, Greece on December 5 at a depth of 10.0 km.^[79]
• A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Narino Department, Colombia on December 14 at an unknown depth. Three-hundred lives were lost and major damage was caused.^[80] The scale of the destruction was high for such a small magnitude earthquake.
• A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Sughd Province, Tajikistan on December 28 at a depth of 20.0 km.^[81]

References