List of earthquakes in 1938

Earthquakes in 1938
4.0–5.9 magnitude; 6.0–6.9 magnitude;	7.0–7.9 magnitude; 8.0+ magnitude;
Strongest magnitude	Dutch East Indies, Banda Sea, (Magnitude 8.5) February 1
Deadliest	Turkey, Kirsehir Province, (Magnitude 6.6) April 19 224 deaths
Total fatalities	296
Number by magnitude
9.0+	0
	← 1937 1939 →

This is a list of earthquakes in 1938. 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. This was once again a very busy year with 22 events reaching 7.0+. Topping the list was a huge quake which struck the Banda Sea, Dutch East Indies in February. At a magnitude of 8.5 this was one of the largest earthquakes of all time. Despite the large size no deaths were reported. Despite the array of large events, the death toll for the year was only 296. Turkey saw the majority of the deaths due to a 6.6 magnitude event in April. November saw a series of large quakes strike off the east coast of Honshu, Japan. Also in November was a magnitude 8.3 which struck Alaska. Generally Dutch East Indies and Japan saw most of the large 7.0+ events.

Quick facts Strongest magnitude, Deadliest ...

Rank	Death toll	Magnitude	Location	MMI	Depth (km)	Date
1	224	6.6	Turkey, Kırşehir Province	X (Extreme)	10.0	April 19
2	51	6.0	British Burma, Shan State	VIII (Severe)	0.0	May 14
3	17	7.7	Dutch East Indies, Makassar Strait	IX (Violent)	35.0	May 19

Rank	Magnitude	Death toll	Location	MMI	Depth (km)	Date
1	8.5	0	Dutch East Indies, Banda Sea	( )	25.0	February 1
2	8.2	0	United States, south of the Alaska Peninsula	VI (Strong)	35.0	November 10
3	7.8	1	Japan, off the east coast of Honshu	( )	35.0	November 5
= 4	7.7	0	New Guinea, Morobe Province	( )	35.0	May 12
= 4	7.7	17	Dutch East Indies, Makassar Strait	IX (Violent)	35.0	May 19
= 4	7.7	0	Japan, off the east coast of Honshu	( )	15.0	May 23
= 4	7.7	0	Japan, Ryukyu Islands	( )	20.0	June 10
= 4	7.7	0	Japan, off the east coast of Honshu	( )	35.0	November 5
= 4	7.7	0	Japan, off the east coast of Honshu	( )	30.0	November 6
5	7.6	0	Japan, off the east coast of Honshu	( )	25.0	November 6
6	7.5	0	Japan, Ryukyu Islands	( )	20.0	June 16
= 7	7.3	0	Dutch East Indies, Molucca Sea	( )	15.0	October 10
= 7	7.3	0	Dutch East Indies, northwest of Timor	( )	90.0	October 20
8	7.2	0	Taiwan, Hualien County	( )	15.0	September 7
= 9	7.1	0	Philippines, west of Luzon	( )	15.0	May 23
= 9	7.1	0	France, Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia	( )	35.0	May 30
= 9	7.1	0	Mongolia, Bayan-Ölgii Province	( )	10.0	October 19
= 10	7.0	0	Scotia Sea	( )	10.0	January 24
= 10	7.0	2	Colombia, Quindío Department	VIII (Severe)	150.0	February 5
= 10	7.0	0	British Burma, Chin State	( )	75.0	August 16
= 10	7.0	0	Philippines, Samar Sea	( )	15.0	August 29
= 10	7.0	0	New Zealand, Southland, New Zealand	( )	15.0	December 16

Date	Country and location	M_w	Depth (km)	MMI	Notes	Casualties
Date	Country and location	M_w	Depth (km)	MMI	Notes	Dead	Injured
1^[1]	Japan, Volcano Islands	6.6	60.0
2^[2]^[3]	Mexico, off the coast of Oaxaca	6.5	25.0	VII	Major damage was reported.
7^[4]	New Guinea, west of New Ireland (island)	6.5	15.0
10^[5]	Japan, Ryukyu Islands	6.2	60.0
11^[6]	Japan, off the south coast of Honshu	6.5	25.0
16^[7]	Peru, Loreto Region	6.0	100.0
18^[8]	Dutch East Indies, off the west coast of southern Sumatra	6.5	100.0
22^[9]	Dutch East Indies, Sunda Strait	6.0	150.0
23^[10]^[11]	United States, north of Maui, Hawaii	6.6	10.0	VII	Damage was caused with costs being reported at $150,000 (1938 rate). Landslides were observed as well as cracks in roads.
24^[12]	Scotia Sea	7.0	10.0

Date	Country and location	M_w	Depth (km)	MMI	Notes	Casualties
Date	Country and location	M_w	Depth (km)	MMI	Notes	Dead	Injured
1^[13]^[14]^[15]^[16]	Dutch East Indies, eastern Banda Sea	8.5	25.0	VII	The 1938 Banda Sea earthquake was one of the largest in Indonesian history. Despite the size and shallow depth very little damage was caused. A tsunami was caused which resulted in 24 homes being destroyed with a further 8 being damaged.
2^[17]	Dutch East Indies, Mentawai Islands	6.0	120.0
5^[18]^[19]	Colombia, Quindío Department	7.0	150.0	VIII	2 people were killed and major damage was caused.	2
5^[20]	Philippines, west of Catanduanes	6.5	160.0
7^[21]	Japan, Tochigi Prefecture, Honshu	6.5	100.0
13^[22]	Dutch East Indies, off the west coast of West Papua (province)	0.0	0.0		Some damage was caused. The magnitude and depth were unknown.
13^[23]	New Zealand, northeast of	6.5	35.0
14^[24]	Turkmen SSR, Balkan Region	6.0	35.0

Date	Country and location	M_w	Depth (km)	MMI	Notes	Casualties
Date	Country and location	M_w	Depth (km)	MMI	Notes	Dead	Injured
8^[25]	New Guinea, southeast of New Ireland (island)	6.5	50.0
14^[26]	India, Madhya Pradesh	6.2	50.0
22^[27]	Canada, southwest of Haida Gwaii	6.6	10.0
31^[28]	Philippines, Batanes	6.5	60.0

List of earthquakes in 1938

Overall

By death toll

By magnitude

Notable events

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

References

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