events
September 25, 2003
The 8.3 Mw Hokkaidō earthquake strikes just offshore Hokkaidō, Japan.
2003 Tokachi earthquake
The 2003 Hokkaidō earthquake, scientifically named the 2003 Tokachi-Oki earthquake , occurred off the coast of Hokkaidō, Japan on 26 September at 04:50 local time. At a focal depth of 27 km (17 mi), this great undersea earthquake measured 8.3 on the moment magnitude scale, making it the most powerful earthquake of 2003, as well as one of the most intense earthquakes to hit Japan since modern record-keeping began in 1900.