Jōetsu

Earthquakes near Jōetsu through history

From 1900 to October 19, 2026, USGS recorded 13 earthquakes of magnitude 6 or more within 100 km of Jōetsu, or 200 km for magnitude 7 and above. 3 of them reached magnitude 7 or more; the strongest on either list was an estimated magnitude 7.7 on November 26, 1614 (Niigata Prefecture).

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The last 30 days · as of

USGS recorded no earthquake of magnitude 4.5 or more within 100 km of Jōetsu in the last 30 days.

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What the record holds

The deadliest was not the strongest: an estimated magnitude 7.4 on May 8, 1847 (Zenkoji, Nagano), for which NOAA records 12,000 deaths. NOAA’s list of significant earthquakes has 20 here, back to AD 863. NOAA records deaths in 33 of the events here, 20,723 in all. The latest on NOAA’s list is a magnitude 7.5 on January 1, 2024 (2024 Noto Peninsula, Japan Earthquake). NOAA’s record here begins on July 10, 863 with an earthquake (Naoetsu, Niigata Prefecture). It grows thinner going back: 9 of the 20 significant earthquakes NOAA lists here are from 1927 on. NOAA lists 11 tsunamis that began within 100 km of Jōetsu, and 5 from elsewhere that reached it with deaths or a metre of water or more. The highest water NOAA records here was 90 m, on August 29, 1741. The deadliest, on May 20, 1751, killed 2,100 people here by NOAA’s runup records. NOAA lists 28 significant eruptions of 4 volcanoes within 100 km of Jōetsu. The largest was Asamayama on August 5, 1783, at 4 on the volcanic explosivity index. It killed 1,491 people by NOAA’s count.

The events

  • January 1, 2024Earthquake · M 7.52024 Noto Peninsula, Japan Earthquake · 549 deaths (NOAA)USGS · NOAA NCEI · Wikipedia
  • June 16, 1964Earthquake · M 7.627 km NW of Murakami, Japan · 36 deaths (NOAA)USGS · NOAA NCEI · Wikipedia
  • May 8, 1847Earthquake · M 7.4 (est.)Zenkoji, Nagano · 12,000 deaths (NOAA)NOAA NCEI · Wikipedia
  • August 5, 1783Eruption · VEI 4Asamayama · 1,491 deaths (NOAA)NOAA NCEI · Wikipedia
  • May 20, 1751TsunamiNw. Honshu Island · 2,100 deaths here (NOAA)NOAA NCEI · Wikipedia
  • August 29, 1741Tsunami · 90 m hereW. Hokkaido IslandNOAA NCEI
  • November 26, 1614Earthquake · M 7.7 (est.)Niigata PrefectureNOAA NCEI
  • July 10, 863Earthquake · M 7.0 (est.)Naoetsu, Niigata PrefectureNOAA NCEI

Good to know

  • An event counts for Jōetsu when it began within 100 km of its centre, or 200 km for an earthquake of magnitude 7 or more. Damage can reach further.
  • USGS counts here start at magnitude 6: the catalogue’s smaller quakes thin out going back, where few instruments listened.
  • NOAA lists significant events only: earthquakes that killed, did about $1 million of damage, reached magnitude 7.5 or intensity X, or raised a tsunami, and eruptions and tsunamis by like measures. Magnitudes before 1900 are its estimates from written accounts.
  • Deaths are NOAA’s total for each event, wherever people died, its tsunami and fires included. A tsunami counts the dead its runup records give for this place: NOAA’s total for a tsunami includes its source quake’s.
  • A tsunami from elsewhere counts where one of its runups killed or rose a metre or more.
  • Counted to October 19, 2026, as is the map. The last 30 days ask USGS again.

How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Earthquakes, live, The world through history

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