2004 Chūetsu earthquake
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| Date | October 23, 2004 |
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| Magnitude | 6.6 Mw |
| Areas affected | Japan |
| Casualties | 68 dead, 4,805 injured |
The Chūetsu earthquakes (中越地震 Chūetsu jishin?) occurred in Niigata Prefecture, Japan, at 17:56 local time (08:56 UTC) on Saturday, October 23, 2004. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) named it the "Heisei 16 Niigata Prefecture Chuetsu Earthquake" (平成16年新潟県中越地震 Heisei ju-roku-nen Niigata-ken Chuetsu Jishin?). Niigata Prefecture is located in the Hokuriku region of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The initial earthquake had a magnitude of 6.6 and caused noticeable shaking across almost half of Honshu, including parts of the Tōhoku, Hokuriku, Chūbu, and Kantō regions.
The first quake struck the Chuetsu area of Niigata Prefecture, Japan with a reading of 7 on the Japanese shindo intensity scale at Kawaguchi, Niigata. The moment magnitude of the earthquake is estimated at 6.6. For comparison, the Great Hanshin earthquake, which devastated much of Kobe, measured 7 on the shindo scale, with a magnitude of 7.2. The earthquake occurred at a depth of 15.8 km. The JMA gave the coordinates of the earthquake as 37°18′N 138°48′E / 37.3°N 138.8°ECoordinates: 37°18′N 138°48′E / 37.3°N 138.8°E.
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