The 1964 Niigata earthquake struck at 13:01 local time (04:01 UTC) on June 16. with a magnitude of 7.5 or 7.6. The epicenter was on the continental shelf off the northwest coast of Honshu, Japan in Niigata Prefecture, about 50 kilometres (31 mi) north of the city of Niigata. The earthquake caused liquefaction over large parts of the city.