This is a list of earthquakes in 1945. 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. The last year of World War II was dominated by two events which caused the vast bulk of the death toll. In January, over 2,300 were killed by a large magnitude 6.6 quake in Japan. In November, a magnitude 8.1 quake caused a devastating tsunami leading to 4,000 deaths in Pakistan. In terms of large events, most activity occurred in the western Pacific Ocean. Japan, New Guinea, and the southwest Pacific Islands saw several events with a magnitude over 7.0.

Overall

By death toll

Rank Death toll Magnitude Location MMI Depth (km) Date 1 , off the coast of Pakistan 2 , Aichi Prefecture, Honshu 3 , Hebei Province Note: At least 10 casualties

By magnitude

Rank Magnitude Death toll Location MMI Depth (km) Date 1 , off the coast of Pakistan 2 , West New Britain Province, New Guinea 3 , off the south coast of South Island, New Zealand = 4 , southeast of the Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia = 4 , off the northeast coast of Honshu = 4 , Volcano Islands = 4 , off the east coast of Honshu = 5 , Northern Mariana Islands = 5 , Santiago Metropolitan Region = 6 , southeast of the Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia = 6 , off the east coast of Kamchatka, Russia = 6 , Chiriqui Province = 6 , Kuril Islands, Russia = 6 , Bismarck Sea, New Guinea = 6 Note: At least 7.0 magnitude

Notable events

January

+DateCountry and location Mw Depth (km) MMINotes Casualties Dead Injured , Baffin Bay 6.5 35.0 , Aichi Prefecture, Honshu 6.6 10.0 The 1945 Mikawa earthquake left 2,306 people dead and 896 injured. 7,221 homes were destroyed. 2,306 896 , Espaillat Province 6.0 35.0

February

+DateCountry and location Mw Depth (km) MMINotes Casualties Dead Injured , southeast of the Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia 7.0 20.0 rowspan="2"| Doublet earthquake. , southeast of the Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia 7.2 20.0 , off the northeast coast of Honshu 7.2 58.7 A tsunami was generated. 2 people were killed and 2 homes were destroyed. 2 , southern Idaho 6.0 10.0 , off the northeast coast of Honshu 6.4 22.5 Aftershock. , Volcano Islands 7.2 15.0

March

+DateCountry and location Mw Depth (km) MMINotes Casualties Dead Injured , southeast of Mindanao, Philippines 6.8 100.0 , off the east coast of Honshu 7.2 50.0 , off the west coast of 6.8 15.0 , Central Region, Uganda 6.0 35.0 5 people were killed and some damage was caused. 5

April

+DateCountry and location Mw Depth (km) MMINotes Casualties Dead Injured , off the east coast of Kamchatka, Russia 7.0 35.0 , off the east coast of Kamchatka, Russia 6.8 35.0 Aftershock. , southeast of the Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia 6.5 35.0 , State of Mexico 6.5 100.0 , Celebes Sea 6.8 565.0 , East New Britain Province, New Guinea 6.8 160.0

May

+DateCountry and location Mw Depth (km) MMINotes Casualties Dead Injured , western Banda Sea, Dutch East Indies 6.8 550.0 , off the coast of northern California 6.4 10.0 , off the east coast of Honshu 6.6 50.0

June

+DateCountry and location Mw Depth (km) MMINotes Casualties Dead Injured , Chiriqui Province 7.0 80.0 , Uttarakhand 6.4 15.0 , Kuril Islands, Russia 7.0 100.0 , Himachal Pradesh 6.5 20.0 , Gulf of California 6.7 10.0

July

+DateCountry and location Mw Depth (km) MMINotes Casualties Dead Injured , Cauca Department 6.5 100.0 , Northern Mariana Islands 7.1 138.5 , northern Sumatra, Dutch East Indies 6.7 15.0

August

+DateCountry and location Mw Depth (km) MMINotes Casualties Dead Injured , off the east coast of Taiwan 6.3 14.0 , northern Haida Gwaii 6.2 35.0 , Andaman Islands 6.4 20.0 , Ryukyu Islands 6.5 15.0 , Pasco Region 6.8 117.3 , off the south coast of Honshu 6.7 100.0 , Vanuatu 6.9 20.0

September

+DateCountry and location Mw Depth (km) MMINotes Casualties Dead Injured , off the south coast of South Island 7.5 20.0 eastern Mediterranean Sea 6.5 80.0 , south of New Ireland (island), New Guinea 6.6 45.0 , Vrancea County 6.5 100.0 , Sangha Department (Republic of the Congo) 6.0 35.0 Some damage was caused. , Santiago Metropolitan Region 7.1 91.9 , off the south coast of Hokkaido 6.6 65.0 , Bismarck Sea, New Guinea 7.0 50.0 , Hebei Province 6.2 35.0 17 people were killed and 30 were injured. Some homes were destroyed. 17 30

October

+DateCountry and location Mw Depth (km) MMINotes Casualties Dead Injured , off coast of 6.1 25.0 , Kuril Islands, Russia 6.6 60.0 , Guerrero 6.5 90.0 , Molucca Sea 6.5 55.0 , Quiche Department 6.8 200.0 , Vanuatu 6.8 183.6

November

+DateCountry and location Mw Depth (km) MMINotes Casualties Dead Injured , east of Kodiak Island, Alaska 6.8 50.0 7.0 592.3 , off the coast of Pakistan 8.1 15.0 The 1945 Balochistan earthquake caused over 4,000 deaths mainly due to a tsunami. $25 million (1945 rate) in property damage was reported. 4,000

December

+DateCountry and location Mw Depth (km) MMINotes Casualties Dead Injured , West New Britain Province, New Guinea 6.7 55.0 , Buzau County 6.0 100.0 , Denizli Province 0.0 0.0 7 deaths were caused and some damage was caused. Magnitude and depth unknown. 7 , , Columbus Channel 6.5 100.0 , West New Britain Province, New Guinea 6.7 55.0 Foreshock. , West New Britain Province, New Guinea 7.8 85.0

References