The deadliest earthquake sequence in Japan between the 2011 Tōhoku disaster and the 2024 Noto earthquake, killing 277 people across Kyushu.
Key Facts
- Total deaths
- 277
- Injured
- 2,809
- Mainshock magnitude
- 7.0 Mw
- Foreshock magnitude
- 6.2 Mw
- People evacuated
- 44,000+
- Depth of mainshock
- ~10 km
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The earthquakes resulted from seismic activity beneath Kumamoto Prefecture in the Kyushu region of Japan. A magnitude 6.2 foreshock struck on April 14, 2016, at a depth of approximately 11 kilometres, preceding the main seismic event by roughly 28 hours.
A magnitude 7.0 mainshock struck at 01:25 JST on April 16, 2016, at a depth of about 10 kilometres beneath Kumamoto City. The sequence caused widespread structural collapses and fires across Kumamoto and Ōita Prefectures, constituting the deadliest earthquake series in Japan in five years.
The disaster killed 277 people — 50 directly, 218 from disaster-related causes during evacuation, and 5 from subsequent heavy rains — and injured 2,809. More than 44,000 residents were displaced from their homes, and severe infrastructure and building damage affected multiple prefectures across Kyushu.
Human Cost
Each dot represents approximately 10,000 deaths. Total estimated: 277 (earthquake)