Significant M5.8 Earthquake struck on Monday Morning in the North Pacific Ocean near Mutsu (Japan).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on November 19th, 2023. Last updated November 29th, 2023.

In the North Pacific Ocean 87 kilometer from Mutsu, Japan, a significant Magnitude 5.8 earthquake occurred in the early morning of Monday November 20th, 2023. Around 4.5 million people have been exposed to shaking.

Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 90 kilometers (56 mi) off the coast of Japan, 87 kilometer east of Mutsu in Aomori. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 41 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Nov 20, 2023 06:01 (Tokyo Time) - Nov 19, 2023 21:01 Universal Time.
Location:	87 km east of Mutsu, Aomori, Japan. Coordinates 41°12'37"N 142°15'7"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.8 Detected by 34 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.053 .
Depth:	41 km (25 mi) A quite shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	IV Light On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Low tsunami risk Earthquakes under MAG-6.5 do not usually cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Minimal impact predicted

Based on scientific estimates by the US Geographic Survey (USGS), the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities, and a 96% chance that the number of fatalities falls no higher than 10.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 96% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls no higher than 10 million USD.

Roughly 4.5 million people exposed to shaking

This earthquake may have been felt by around 4.5 million people. That is the expected population size of the area exposed to a level of shaking of II or higher on the Modified Mercalli scale according to the USGS.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is IV, which corresponds with light shaking and likely no damage. Roughly 529,500 people are expected to be exposed to this level. Intensity level III was experienced by the majority of people (around 4 million). In their region, weak shaking and probably no damage can be expected. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of Japan .

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
0	I	Not noticable	None
0	II	Very weak	None
3,988,000	III	Weak	Probably none
529,500	IV	Light	Likely none
0	V	Moderate	Very light
0	VI	Strong	Light
0	VII	Very Strong	Moderate
0	VIII	Severe	Moderate to heavy
0	IX	Violent	Heavy
0	X	Extreme	Very heavy

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in Japan . The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Mutsu in Aomori, Japan. Mutsu is located 87 kilometer (54 mi) east of the epicenter. The intensity of shaking and damage in Mutsu is estimated to be around level IV on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (light shaking, likely no damage).

Major cities near this earthquake: Sapporo is located 219 km to the north-northwest (intensity unknown, possibly low). Sendai is located 348 km to the south-southwest (intensity unknown, possibly low). Hachinohe is located 101 km to the southwest and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage).

An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below. If places don't have intensity data available, it likely means the experienced impact in those places was fairly small.

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place	Intensity (MMI)
87 km (54 mi) W from epicenter	Mutsu Aomori, Japan.	IV Light
93 km (58 mi) SW from epicenter	Misawa Aomori, Japan.	IV Light
101 km (63 mi) SW from epicenter	Hachinohe Aomori, Japan.	IV Light
125 km (78 mi) N from epicenter	Shizunai-furukawachō Hokkaido, Japan.	III Weak
135 km (84 mi) WSW from epicenter	Aomori Aomori, Japan.	III Weak
141 km (88 mi) WNW from epicenter	Hakodate Hokkaido, Japan.	III Weak
150 km (93 mi) WNW from epicenter	Kamiiso Hokkaido, Japan.	III Weak
150 km (93 mi) WNW from epicenter	Honchō Hokkaido, Japan.	III Weak
150 km (93 mi) WSW from epicenter	Namioka Aomori, Japan.	III Weak
154 km (96 mi) WSW from epicenter	Kuroishi Aomori, Japan.	III Weak
158 km (98 mi) WSW from epicenter	Goshogawara Aomori, Japan.	III Weak
162 km (101 mi) NW from epicenter	Muroran Hokkaido, Japan.	III Weak
163 km (101 mi) WSW from epicenter	Shimokizukuri Aomori, Japan.	III Weak
165 km (103 mi) WSW from epicenter	Hirosaki Aomori, Japan.	III Weak
167 km (104 mi) NNW from epicenter	Tomakomai Hokkaido, Japan.	III Weak
167 km (104 mi) NNW from epicenter	Shiraoi Hokkaido, Japan.	III Weak
168 km (104 mi) SW from epicenter	Hanawa Akita, Japan.	III Weak
176 km (109 mi) S from epicenter	Miyako Iwate, Japan.	III Weak
177 km (110 mi) SW from epicenter	Ōdate Akita, Japan.	III Weak
181 km (112 mi) NW from epicenter	Date Hokkaido, Japan.	III Weak
186 km (116 mi) NNW from epicenter	Chitose Hokkaido, Japan.	III Weak
192 km (119 mi) SSW from epicenter	Morioka Iwate, Japan.	III Weak
193 km (120 mi) SW from epicenter	Takanosu Akita, Japan.	III Weak
196 km (122 mi) S from epicenter	Yamada Iwate, Japan.	III Weak
200 km (124 mi) SSW from epicenter	Shizukuishi Iwate, Japan.	III Weak
204 km (127 mi) NNW from epicenter	Kitahiroshima Hokkaido, Japan.	III Weak
205 km (127 mi) NNE from epicenter	Obihiro Hokkaido, Japan.	III Weak
213 km (132 mi) NNE from epicenter	Otofuke Hokkaido, Japan.
217 km (135 mi) S from epicenter	Kamaishi Iwate, Japan.
218 km (135 mi) WSW from epicenter	Noshiro Akita, Japan.	III Weak
219 km (136 mi) NNW from epicenter	Sapporo Hokkaido, Japan.
219 km (136 mi) SSW from epicenter	Tōno Iwate, Japan.
219 km (136 mi) NNW from epicenter	Ebetsu Hokkaido, Japan.
225 km (140 mi) N from epicenter	Iwamizawa Hokkaido, Japan.
225 km (140 mi) SSW from epicenter	Hanamaki Iwate, Japan.	III Weak
235 km (146 mi) SSW from epicenter	Kitakami Iwate, Japan.
237 km (147 mi) NNW from epicenter	Ishikari Hokkaido, Japan.
242 km (150 mi) S from epicenter	Ōfunato Iwate, Japan.
243 km (151 mi) NNW from epicenter	Otaru Hokkaido, Japan.
245 km (152 mi) SW from epicenter	Akita Akita, Japan.	III Weak
247 km (153 mi) SW from epicenter	Ōmagari Akita, Japan.	III Weak
250 km (155 mi) SSW from epicenter	Mizusawa Iwate, Japan.
255 km (158 mi) SW from epicenter	Yokote Akita, Japan.
262 km (163 mi) N from epicenter	Takikawa Hokkaido, Japan.
263 km (163 mi) NE from epicenter	Kushiro Hokkaido, Japan.	III Weak
272 km (169 mi) SSW from epicenter	Ichinoseki Iwate, Japan.
285 km (177 mi) N from epicenter	Asahikawa Hokkaido, Japan.
318 km (198 mi) NNE from epicenter	Kitami Hokkaido, Japan.
321 km (199 mi) SSW from epicenter	Ishinomaki Miyagi, Japan.
348 km (216 mi) SSW from epicenter	Sendai Miyagi, Japan.
368 km (229 mi) SSW from epicenter	Yamagata Yamagata, Japan.
400 km (249 mi) SSW from epicenter	Yanagawamachi-saiwaichō Fukushima, Japan.

Earthquake Intensity Map

The graph below overlays a map of the region around the epicenter with earthquake intensity data provided by the US Geographic Survey. The highest intensity level detected for this earthquake is IV.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Earthquake Intensity Map based on Shakemap Data provided by USGS.

Shaking reported by 11 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 11 people have reported shaking in 10 places, all within Japan.We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

Misawa, Aomori, Japan: 2 people.
Aomori, Aomori, Japan: 1 person.
Hachinohe, Aomori, Japan: 1 person.
Hirosaki, Aomori, Japan: 1 person.
Chitose, Hokkaido, Japan: 1 person.
Date, Hokkaido, Japan: 1 person.
Noboribetsu, Hokkaido, Japan: 1 person.
Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan: 1 person.
Sendai, Miyagi, Japan: 1 person.
Musashino, Tokio, Japan: 1 person.

Aftershocks detected

Since this main shock, 1 smaller aftershock was detected. A 3.5 magnitude earthquake hit 8 hrs later 35 km (21 mi) north-northwest of this earthquake.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

Detected MAG2.5+ earthquakes within within 100km (62 mi), that occurred in the three days before and after the main shock.
Classification	Magnitude	When	Where
Main Shock This Earthquake	M 5.8	Nov 20, 2023 06:01 (Tokyo Time)	-
Aftershock	M 3.5	8 hrs later Nov 20, 2023 14:01 (Tokyo Time)	35 km (21 mi) NNW from Main Shock.

More earthquakes coming?

The risk of aftershocks decreases rapidly over time. Usually, aftershocks are at least one order of magnitude lower than a main shock.

The chance that a significant earthquake like this one is followed by an even larger earthquake is not so large. On average, scientists estimate a 94% chance that a major earthquake will not be followed by an even larger one. It is still adviced to be aware of this risk

Read: How to Stay Safe during an Earthquake (cdc.gov).

Earthquakes like this happen often in the region

Earthquakes of this strength are very common in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since August 24th, 2023, when a 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit 205 km (127 mi) further south-southeast. An even stronger magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck on May 12th, 2015.

In total, 26 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.8 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every 5 months.

Low tsunami risk

DISCLAIMER: We strongly suggest to closely monitor advice from local authorities with regards to tsunami risks. Our analysis is based on automatically collected data from external sources, and these might contain mistakes. In addition, earthquakes can cause landslides that may lead to a tsunami, or be a followed by another, potentially stonger, earthquake.

Based on early data it appears this earthquake was not strong enough (lower than MAG-6.5) to be likely to cause destructive tsunami's. However this earthquake appeared to have hit at a shallow depth under sea, so stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Factor	Under Sea?	MAG-6.5 or stronger?	Shallow depth?
Explanation	Almost all tsunami's are caused by earthquakes with their epicenter under sea or very near the sea. However stay cautious in coastal areas as earthquakes on land may cause landslides into sea, potentially still causing a local tsunami.	Under MAG 6.5: Very unlikely to cause a tsunami. MAG 6.5 to 7.5: Destructive tsunami's do occur, but are uncommon. Likely to observe small sea level changes. MAG 7.6+: Earthquakes with these magnitudes might produce destructive tsunami's.	Most destructive tsunami's are caused by shallow earthquakes with a depth between 0 and 100km under the surface of the earth. Deeper tsunami's are unlikely to displace to ocean floor.
This Earthquake	This earthquake appears to have struck under the sea.	Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 5.8. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 41 km (25 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 29/11/23 21:28 (). This article is automatically generated based on available data. We keep checking multiple sources for additional information. This article gets updated as new details on this earthquake become available.