This is a list of earthquakes in 1921. 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. In a stark contrast to 1920, the death toll for this year was only 51. Dutch East Indies and Japan were very active.
Overall
By death toll
Rank Death toll Magnitude Location MMI Depth (km) Date 1 Italian Eritrea, off the coast of Massawa Note: At least 10 casualties
By magnitude
Rank Magnitude Death toll Location MMI Depth (km) Date 1 , Badakhshan Province 2 , south of Java = 3 = 3 , Ryukyu Islands = 3 , east of Mindanao = 4 , El Paraiso Department = 4 , Loreto Region 5 , Tarapaca Region 6 British Solomon Islands, Santa Cruz Islands = 7 , Quiche Department = 7 , Ryukyu Islands = 7 , Ibaraki Prefecture, Honshu Note: At least 7.0 magnitude
Notable events
February
+DateCountry and location Mw Depth (km) MMINotes Casualties Dead Injured , Quiche Department 7.0 15.0 , West Papua (province) 6.3 15.0 , Papua (province) 6.9 25.0 7.4 15.0
March
+DateCountry and location Mw Depth (km) MMINotes Casualties Dead Injured , off the east coast of Honshu 6.9 35.0 India, Nicobar Islands 6.6 20.0 , Banda Sea 6.0 50.0 Russian SFSR, off the east coast of Kamchatka 6.6 25.0 , El Paraiso Department 7.3 15.0 , Barat Daya Islands 6.6 170.0
April
+DateCountry and location Mw Depth (km) MMINotes Casualties Dead Injured , off the west coast of northern Sumatra 6.8 35.0 British Solomon Islands, Santa Cruz Islands 6.5 35.0 , southwestern Ryukyu Islands 7.0 15.0 , west of Haida Gwaii 6.5 35.0
May
+DateCountry and location Mw Depth (km) MMINotes Casualties Dead Injured , off the coast of Colima 6.4 15.0 , Bougainville Island 6.4 35.0 , Makassar Strait 6.2 0.0 A few homes were damaged or destroyed. Depth unknown. , Nuristan Province 6.6 35.0 , northeast of Samar 6.4 35.0
June
+DateCountry and location Mw Depth (km) MMINotes Casualties Dead Injured , Hawke's Bay, North Island 6.7 25.0
July
+DateCountry and location Mw Depth (km) MMINotes Casualties Dead Injured , Ryukyu Islands 7.4 35.0 , off the northeast coast of Halmahera 6.0 140.0
August
+DateCountry and location Mw Depth (km) MMINotes Casualties Dead Injured , Liaoning Province 0.0 0.0 The magnitude, depth and location were unknown. A tsunami caused major flooding in the area. Some homes were destroyed. Italian Eritrea, off the coast of Massawa 5.9 0.0 The 1921 Massawa earthquake caused at least 51 deaths and major damage. 51+
September
+DateCountry and location Mw Depth (km) MMINotes Casualties Dead Injured , south of Java 7.6 15.0 Some light damage was reported on Java. A minor tsunami was reported. , eastern Sea of Japan 6.5 5.0
October
+DateCountry and location Mw Depth (km) MMINotes Casualties Dead Injured , Papua (province) 6.6 35.0 Some damage was reported. British Solomon Islands, Kuril Islands 6.6 100.0 British Solomon Islands, Santa Cruz Islands 7.1 35.0 , Tarapaca Region 7.2 113.6
November
+DateCountry and location Mw Depth (km) MMINotes Casualties Dead Injured , southeast of Mindanao 6.6 35.0 Some homes were damaged. , east of Mindanao 7.4 15.0 A tsunami was reported. Some homes were damaged. , La Guajira Department 6.3 15.0 , Badakhshan Province 7.8 240.0
December
+DateCountry and location Mw Depth (km) MMINotes Casualties Dead Injured , Ibaraki Prefecture, Honshu 7.0 35.0 , Loreto Region 7.3 540.0
References