On Monday Afternoon a DESTRUCTIVE M7.5 Earthquake struck near Toyama in Japan.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on January 1st, 2024. Last updated March 1st, 2024.

In the late afternoon of Monday January 1st, 2024, a DESTRUCTIVE and very strong MAG-7.5 earthquake hit under land 88 kilometer from Toyama in Japan. The USGS has indicated there is a potential risk at tsunami's following this earthquake.

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Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in Japan, 88 kilometer (55 mi) north of Toyama. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 10 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Jan 1, 2024 16:10 (Tokyo Time) - Jan 1, 2024 07:10 Universal Time.
Location:	88 km north of Toyama, Japan. Coordinates 37°29'16"N 137°16'16"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 7.5 Detected by 20 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.034 .
Depth:	10 km (6 mi) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	IX Violent On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Potential tsunami risk The USGS has indicated there is a potential risk at tsunami's following this earthquake. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Potential tsunami risk

There is a potential tsunami risk in the aftermath of this earthquake, immediately evacuate to higher grounds away from coastal areas and monitor advice from local authorities. The US Geographic Survey organization has indicated a potential risk for tsunami's following this earthquake.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Significant impact predicted

The US Geographic Survey (USGS) describes the impact of this earthquake as follows:

At least 240 people killed, including one by a tsunami at Suzu, 12 missing, 1,182 injured and 55,649 buildings damaged or destroyed throughout Ishikawa with extensive damage occurring in Suzu Shi and Wajima Shi; 49 people injured and 17,892 buildings damaged or destroyed in Niigata; 47 people injured and 8,044 buildings damaged or destroyed in Toyama; 6 people injured and 45 buildings damaged at Fukui; 2 people injured in Hyogo and Osaka; 1 person injured in Gifu and Nagano. The total economic loss in Ishikawa, Niigata and Toyama was estimated at 17.6 billion US dollars. Several fires occurred and at least 9 landslide dams observed in Wajima Shi. A scarp occurred along the Wakayama Gawa in Suzu Shi. Uplift of 4 m occurred in western Wajima Shi and 1.1 m in northern Suzu Shi with subsidence observed in Anamizu Machi. Widespread landslides occurred across the mountainous region of Noto Hanto. Liquefaction observed in Niigata and Toyama. A tsunami generated with maximum water heights of 6.58 m at Joetsu and 5.1 m at Akasaki, Honshu, .6 m at Setana, Hokkaido and .3 m at Kariya, Kyushu, Japan; .85 m at Mukho-dong, Korea, South; .38 m at Rudnaya Pristan' and .09 m at Kholmsk, Sakhalin, Russia.

Based on scientific estimates by the USGS, the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level ORANGE (orange). They expect an 44% likelyhood of between 100 and 1,000 fatalities, and a 92% chance that the number of fatalities falls between 10 and 10,000.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level RED (high). They expect an 38% likelyhood of between 1,000 and 10,000 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 94% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls between 10 and 100,000 million USD.

Roughly 76 million people exposed to shaking

This earthquake may have been felt by around 76 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 IX, which corresponds with violent shaking and likely heavy damage. Roughly 41,260 people are expected to be exposed to this level. The majority of people (roughly 62 million) live in an area exposed to level IV, where light shaking and likely no damage is expected. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of Japan .

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in Japan . Located 43 kilometer (27 mi) north-east of the epicenter of this earthquake, Anamizu (Ishikawa, Japan) is the nearest significant population center. The intensity of shaking and damage in Anamizu is estimated to be around level IX on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (violent shaking, likely heavy damage).

Multiple large cities are in proximity of today's earthquake. Tokyo is located 294 km to the south-east and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage). Yokohama is located 312 km to the south-east (intensity unknown, possibly low). Nagoya is located 259 km to the south and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage).

A complete list of nearby places is included below. Estimated intensity data (MMI) sourced from a shake-map published by the US Geographic Survey is shown where available (cities without data probably experienced little impact).

Overview of nearby places

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 IX.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Shaking reported by 395 people in 4 countries

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 395 people have reported shaking in 169 places in 4 countries (Taiwan, China, Japan, Korea (South)).We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

• Tokyo, Tokio, Japan: 42 people.
• Kyōto, Kyōto, Japan: 24 people.
• Ōsaka, Ōsaka, Japan: 18 people.
• Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan: 13 people.
• Toyama, Toyama, Japan: 12 people.
• Wajima, Ishikawa, Japan: 11 people.
• Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan: 10 people.
• Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan: 7 people.
• Sendai, Miyagi, Japan: 6 people.
• Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan: 6 people.

186 Aftershocks detected

Since this main shock, 186 smaller aftershocks were detected. Just 2 hrs after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-5.6 was detected 62 km (39 mi) north-east of this earthquake.

In the days before this main shock, 1 smaller foreshock was detected. Roughly 13 mins before this earthquake, a foreshock measuring MAG-5.8 was detected nearby this earthquake.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

Aftershocks are usually at least 1 order of magnitude less strong than main shocks. The more time passes, the smaller the chance and likely strength of any potential aftershocks.

In only six percent of cases, significant earthquakes are followed by a larger main shock, making the current earthquake a foreshock. While the chance of this happening is not so large, it is adviced to maintain cautiousness in the hours and days following a major earthquake.

This is an unusually powerful earthquake

No earthquake of this strength has struck this region for a long time. Our data goes back 10 years, and no earthquakes measuring a magnitude of 7.5 or higher have been detected within 300 km (186 mi) of this epicenter.

Sources

Last updated 01/03/24 07:08 (). 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.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us6000m0xl
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20240101_0000088
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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