On Thursday Afternoon an Unusually powerful M7.1 Earthquake struck in the Philippine Sea near Miyazaki (Japan).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on August 8th, 2024. Last updated September 17th, 2024.

An unusually powerful M7.1 earthquake struck in the Philippine Sea 20 kilometer from Miyazaki, Japan in the late afternoon of Thursday August 8th, 2024. Mag 6.5+ earthquakes at shallow depth under sea have the potential to cause tsunami's.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the Philippine Sea, right off the coast of Japan (2 mi offshore), 20 kilometer south-southeast of Miyazaki. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 24 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Aug 8, 2024 16:42 (Tokyo Time) - Aug 8, 2024 07:42 Universal Time.
Location:	20 km SSE of Miyazaki, Japan. Coordinates 31°45'29"N 131°31'9"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 7.1 Detected by 24 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.031 .
Depth:	24 km (15 mi) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VIII Severe On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Potential Tsunami Risk Mag 6.5+ earthquakes at shallow depth under sea have the potential to cause tsunami's. 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. This earthquake checks all the likely tsunami risk factors: under sea, at a magnitude of MAG-6.5+ and at a shallow depth.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Significant economic impact

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

Ten people injured, 1 home damaged, 11 buildings damaged and rockfalls reported in Miyazaki. Four persons injured, 1 home destroyed, several buildings damaged and landslides reported in Kagoshima. Two persons injured in Kumamoto. A tsunami was observed with the following wave heights: 50 cm at Miyazaki and 20 cm at Kochi.

Based on scientific estimates by the 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 YELLOW (significant). They expect an 35% likelyhood of between 10 and 100 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 98% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls no higher than 1,000 million USD.

Roughly 13 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 13 million have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is VII, which corresponds with very strong shaking and likely moderate damage. Roughly 400,100 people are expected to be exposed to this level. The majority of people (roughly 5.4 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 . The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Miyazaki in Miyazaki, Japan. Miyazaki is located 20 kilometer (12 mi) south-southeast of the epicenter. The intensity of shaking and damage in Miyazaki is estimated to be around level VII on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (very strong shaking, likely moderate damage).

Multiple major population centers exist within 300km of the earthquake that struck today. Miyazaki is located 20 km to the north-northwest and experienced an intensity of VII (very strong shaking, likely moderate damage). Busan is located 438 km to the north-northwest (intensity unknown, possibly low). Fukuoka is located 229 km to the north-northwest 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 intensity in shaking and damage by this earthquake is illustrated through the map below. The highest intensity measured for this earthquake is VII.

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 39 people in 2 countries

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 39 people have reported shaking in 26 places in 2 countries (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:

• Miyazaki, Miyazaki, Japan: 5 people.
• Iwakuni, Yamaguchi, Japan: 3 people.
• Beppu, Ōita, Japan: 3 people.
• Kumamoto, Kumamoto, Japan: 3 people.
• Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan: 2 people.
• Saiki, Ōita, Japan: 2 people.
• Kiyotake, Miyazaki, Japan: 2 people.
• Ōamishirasato, Chiba, Japan: 1 person.
• Izumo, Shimane, Japan: 1 person.
• Ōita, Ōita, Japan: 1 person.

18 Aftershocks detected

This main shock was followed by 18 smaller aftershocks. At a distance of 22 km (13 mi) west-northwest of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 12 hrs later. It measured a magnitude of 5.3

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

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.

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 7.1 or higher have been detected within 300 km (186 mi) of this epicenter.

Sources

Last updated 17/09/24 03:28 (). 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.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us6000nith
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20240808_0000070
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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