This is a list of earthquakes in 1946. 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. Several great shocks affected the planet in 1946. The largest was one of the most significant in human terms. The quake itself was a magnitude 8.6 striking on April 1 in
Alaska resulting in a
tsunami mainly affecting Hawaii. The consequence of this apart from many deaths was the foundation of the
Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. This organisation has helped to substantially reduce the death toll of
tsunamis in the Pacific, although there have been a few exceptions, including the 2011 Japan event. Japan itself was heavily affected in 1946 by a large quake hitting in
December, causing 1,362 deaths. The
Dominican Republic was another nation that suffered great destruction in August.
Turkey,
Peru, and
Turkmenistan all saw earthquakes causing many deaths. In general, 1946 was a busy year, with 21 events measuring above 7.0 and three exceeding a magnitude of 8.0.
This was one of the largest events of all time. The
1946 Aleutian Islands earthquake caused a large
tsunami that resulted in major destruction on
Hawaii. 167 people were killed and property damage was $26 million (1946 rate). The disaster prompted the formation of the
Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.
The
1946 Dominican Republic earthquake was one of the worst disasters to hit the country. The earthquake caused few deaths however a major
tsunami left 1,790 people dead. Many homes were destroyed.
The
1946 Nankai earthquake was one of the largest quakes to hit
Japan. The south coast is vulnerable to
Nankai megathrust earthquakes. 1,362 people were killed and 2,600 were injured. 36,000 homes were destroyed. A
tsunami washed the shoreline contributing to the devastation with wave heights around 20 feet.
^National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.
"Significant Earthquake Information".
doi:
10.7289/V5TD9V7K. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
^Ambraseys, N. N.; Melville, C. P. (February 10, 1946). "The Seismicity of Kuhistan, Iran". The Geographical Journal. 143 (2).
JSTOR: 179–199.
doi:
10.2307/1795872.
JSTOR1795872.
^National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.
"Significant Earthquake Information".
doi:
10.7289/V5TD9V7K. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
^National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.
"Significant Earthquake Information".
doi:
10.7289/V5TD9V7K. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
^National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.
"Significant Earthquake Information".
doi:
10.7289/V5TD9V7K. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
^National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service: NCEI/WDS Global Historical Tsunami Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.
"Tsunami Event Information".
doi:
10.7289/V5PN93H7. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
^National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.
"Significant Earthquake Information".
doi:
10.7289/V5TD9V7K. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
^National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.
"Significant Earthquake Information".
doi:
10.7289/V5TD9V7K. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
^National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.
"Significant Earthquake Information".
doi:
10.7289/V5TD9V7K. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
^National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.
"Tsunami Event Information".
doi:
10.7289/V5TD9V7K. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
^National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service: NCEI/WDS Global Historical Tsunami Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.
"Tsunami Event Information".
doi:
10.7289/V5PN93H7. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
^National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.
"Significant Earthquake Information".
doi:
10.7289/V5TD9V7K. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
^National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.
"Significant Earthquake Information".
doi:
10.7289/V5TD9V7K. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
^National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.
"Significant Earthquake Information".
doi:
10.7289/V5TD9V7K. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
^National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.
"Significant Earthquake Information".
doi:
10.7289/V5TD9V7K. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
^National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.
"Significant Earthquake Information".
doi:
10.7289/V5TD9V7K. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
^National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.
"Significant Earthquake Information".
doi:
10.7289/V5TD9V7K. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
^National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service: NCEI/WDS Global Historical Tsunami Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.
"Tsunami Event Information".
doi:
10.7289/V5PN93H7. Retrieved March 23, 2024.