Significant M5.9 Earthquake struck on Tuesday Night near Hachinohe in Japan.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on April 1st, 2024. Last updated May 1st, 2024.

Under land 43 kilometer from Hachinohe in Japan, a significant M5.9 earthquake occurred in the night of Tuesday April 2nd, 2024. Shaking may have been felt by a total of 5.6 million people.

Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in Japan, 43 kilometer (27 mi) south-southeast of Hachinohe in Aomori. The center of this earthquake had an intermediate depth of 73 km.

Date and Time:	Apr 2, 2024 04:24 (Tokyo Time) - Apr 1, 2024 19:24 Universal Time.
Location:	43 km SSE of Hachinohe, Aomori, Japan. Coordinates 40°8'29"N 141°42'1"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.9 Detected by 48 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.045 .
Depth:	73 km (46 mi) An intermediate depth.
Max. Intensity:	VI Strong On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Tsunami very unlikely While this was a shallow earthquake in a coastal area, it appears to have occurred under land (10 km from the sea) with a magnitude that is usually not strong enough to 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 5.6 million people exposed to shaking

The USGS has published a report estimating the number of people exposed to this earthquake. Acoording to their analysis, roughly 5.6 million have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

An estimated 600,400 people were exposed to level V. At this level, moderate shaking and very light damage can be expected. The majority of people (roughly 4.6 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 .

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
0	I	Not noticable	None
0	II	Very weak	None
456,600	III	Weak	Probably none
4,577,000	IV	Light	Likely none
600,400	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 Hachinohe in Aomori, Japan. Hachinohe is located 43 kilometer (27 mi) south-southeast of the epicenter. The intensity of shaking and damage in Hachinohe is estimated to be around level V on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (moderate shaking, very light damage).

Multiple major population centers exist within 300km of the earthquake that struck today. Sapporo is located 327 km to the north (intensity unknown, possibly low). Hachinohe is located 43 km to the north-northwest and experienced an intensity of V (moderate shaking, very light damage). Sendai is located 220 km to the south-southwest (intensity unknown, possibly low).

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)
43 km (27 mi) NNW from epicenter	Hachinohe Aomori, Japan.	V Moderate
59 km (37 mi) SSE from epicenter	Miyako Iwate, Japan.	IV Light
66 km (41 mi) NNW from epicenter	Misawa Aomori, Japan.	V Moderate
68 km (42 mi) SW from epicenter	Morioka Iwate, Japan.	IV Light
78 km (48 mi) W from epicenter	Hanawa Akita, Japan.	IV Light
78 km (48 mi) SSE from epicenter	Yamada Iwate, Japan.	IV Light
79 km (49 mi) SW from epicenter	Shizukuishi Iwate, Japan.	IV Light
93 km (58 mi) S from epicenter	Tōno Iwate, Japan.	IV Light
97 km (60 mi) S from epicenter	Kamaishi Iwate, Japan.	IV Light
98 km (61 mi) SSW from epicenter	Hanamaki Iwate, Japan.	IV Light
98 km (61 mi) W from epicenter	Ōdate Akita, Japan.	IV Light
108 km (67 mi) SSW from epicenter	Kitakami Iwate, Japan.	IV Light
110 km (68 mi) WNW from epicenter	Kuroishi Aomori, Japan.	IV Light
111 km (69 mi) NW from epicenter	Aomori Aomori, Japan.	IV Light
113 km (70 mi) WNW from epicenter	Namioka Aomori, Japan.	IV Light
114 km (71 mi) W from epicenter	Takanosu Akita, Japan.	IV Light
116 km (72 mi) SSW from epicenter	Kanegasaki Iwate, Japan.	IV Light
116 km (72 mi) WNW from epicenter	Hirosaki Aomori, Japan.	IV Light
119 km (74 mi) S from epicenter	Ōfunato Iwate, Japan.	IV Light
122 km (76 mi) SSW from epicenter	Mizusawa Iwate, Japan.	IV Light
129 km (80 mi) SW from epicenter	Ōmagari Akita, Japan.	IV Light
130 km (81 mi) NW from epicenter	Goshogawara Aomori, Japan.	IV Light
134 km (83 mi) SW from epicenter	Yokote Akita, Japan.	IV Light
134 km (83 mi) NNW from epicenter	Mutsu Aomori, Japan.	IV Light
135 km (84 mi) WNW from epicenter	Shimokizukuri Aomori, Japan.	IV Light
142 km (88 mi) W from epicenter	Noshiro Akita, Japan.	IV Light
143 km (89 mi) WSW from epicenter	Akita Akita, Japan.	IV Light
145 km (90 mi) SSW from epicenter	Ichinoseki Iwate, Japan.	IV Light
149 km (93 mi) SW from epicenter	Yuzawa Akita, Japan.	IV Light
150 km (93 mi) W from epicenter	Tennō Akita, Japan.	IV Light
186 km (116 mi) SSW from epicenter	Kogota Miyagi, Japan.	IV Light
186 km (116 mi) SSW from epicenter	Furukawa Miyagi, Japan.	IV Light
195 km (121 mi) SW from epicenter	Shinjō Yamagata, Japan.	IV Light
195 km (121 mi) SSW from epicenter	Yamoto Miyagi, Japan.	IV Light
195 km (121 mi) S from epicenter	Ishinomaki Miyagi, Japan.	IV Light
199 km (124 mi) NNW from epicenter	Hakodate Hokkaido, Japan.	IV Light
207 km (129 mi) SSW from epicenter	Tomiya Miyagi, Japan.	IV Light
209 km (130 mi) SW from epicenter	Sakata Yamagata, Japan.	IV Light
211 km (131 mi) SSW from epicenter	Shiogama Miyagi, Japan.
220 km (137 mi) SSW from epicenter	Sendai Miyagi, Japan.
226 km (140 mi) SW from epicenter	Tsuruoka Yamagata, Japan.	III Weak
229 km (142 mi) SSW from epicenter	Tendō Yamagata, Japan.	IV Light
241 km (150 mi) SSW from epicenter	Yamagata Yamagata, Japan.
249 km (155 mi) NNW from epicenter	Muroran Hokkaido, Japan.
278 km (173 mi) N from epicenter	Tomakomai Hokkaido, Japan.
283 km (176 mi) SSW from epicenter	Yonezawa Yamagata, Japan.
287 km (178 mi) SSW from epicenter	Fukushima Fukushima, Japan.
326 km (203 mi) SSW from epicenter	Kōriyama Fukushima, Japan.
327 km (203 mi) N from epicenter	Sapporo Hokkaido, Japan.
342 km (213 mi) SW from epicenter	Niigata Niigata, Japan.
351 km (218 mi) S from epicenter	Iwaki Fukushima, Japan.
379 km (235 mi) SSW from epicenter	Nasushiobara Tochigi, Japan.
382 km (237 mi) SSW from epicenter	Kitaibaraki Ibaraki, Japan.

Earthquake Intensity Map

The maximum intensity (MMI Scale) caused by this earthquake is V. The map below shows in which areas this earthquake was the most and least impactful. It is based on data from the US Geographic Survey.

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 14 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 14 people have reported shaking in 8 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: 4 people.
Sendai, Miyagi, Japan: 4 people.
Hachinohe, Aomori, Japan: 1 person.
Hirosaki, Aomori, Japan: 1 person.
Iwate, Iwate, Japan: 1 person.
Morioka, Iwate, Japan: 1 person.
Tagajō, Miyagi, Japan: 1 person.
Higashimurayama, Tokio, Japan: 1 person.

Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 1 smaller aftershock occurred. Just 1 day after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-3.6 was detected 76 km (47 mi) south-southwest 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 5.9	Apr 2, 2024 04:24 (Tokyo Time)	-
Aftershock	M 3.6	1 day later Apr 3, 2024 06:27 (Tokyo Time)	76 km (47 mi) SSW 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.

It's always adviced to be cautious of the risk of a larger shock following any significant earthquake, however this risk is fairly small. There is a roughly 94 percent change that no larger main shock will follow in the days following this earthquake.

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 11th, 2023, when a 5.9 magnitude earthquake hit 145 km (90 mi) further north-east. An even stronger magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck on March 16th, 2022.

In total, 30 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.9 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 4 months.

Tsunami very unlikely

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.

While MAG-6.5+ earthquakes may cause tsunami's, it appears that the epicenter of this earthquake hit under land. In addition, the reported depth is deeper than 100km, making the risk of a tsunami even less likely. However always 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 on land near a coastal area (10 km from the sea).	Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 5.9. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 73 km (46 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 01/05/24 22:58 (). This article contains currently available information about the earthquake and is automatically composed. We continue to update this article up to a few days after the earthquake occurred.