In the North Pacific Ocean 275 kilometer from Kushiro, Japan, a significant Magnitude 5.2 earthquake occurred in the late afternoon of Tuesday August 20th, 2024.
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Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 194 kilometers (121 mi) off the coast of Japan, 275 kilometer east-northeast of Kushiro in Hokkaido. The center of this earthquake had an intermediate depth of 103 km.
| Date and Time: | Aug 20, 2024 17:24 (Tokyo Time) - Aug 20, 2024 08:24 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 275 km ENE of Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan. Coordinates 44°9'57"N 147°21'49"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.2 Detected by 136 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.049 . |
| Depth: | 103 km (64 mi) An intermediate depth. |
| Tsunami Risk: | Tsunami very unlikely Earthquakes under MAG-6.5 at depths deeper than 100km are very unlikely to cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here. |
Nearby towns and cities
This earthquake may have been felt in Japan . The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Nemuro in Hokkaido, Japan. Nemuro is located 172 kilometer (107 mi) north-east of the epicenter.
A complete list of nearby places is included below.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 172 km (107 mi) SW from epicenter |
Nemuro Hokkaido, Japan. |
| 187 km (116 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Shibetsu Hokkaido, Japan. |
| 204 km (127 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Nakashibetsu Hokkaido, Japan. |
| 248 km (154 mi) W from epicenter |
Abashiri Hokkaido, Japan. |
| 264 km (164 mi) W from epicenter |
Motomachi Hokkaido, Japan. |
| 275 km (171 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Kushiro Hokkaido, Japan. |
| 281 km (175 mi) W from epicenter |
Kitami Hokkaido, Japan. |
Aftershocks detected
In the days before this main shock, 1 smaller foreshock was detected. Roughly 2 days before this earthquake, a foreshock measuring MAG-4.4 was detected nearby this earthquake.
Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks
| Classification | Magnitude | When | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreshock | M 4.4 |
2 days earlier Aug 18, 2024 07:48 (Tokyo Time) | 56 km (35 mi) NNE from Main Shock. |
| Main Shock This Earthquake |
M 5.2 |
Aug 20, 2024 17:24 (Tokyo Time) | - |
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.
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 July 21st, 2024, when a 5.3 magnitude earthquake hit 218 km (135 mi) further southwest. An even stronger magnitude 7 earthquake struck on February 13th, 2020.
In total, 32 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.2 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
For a serious tsunami to occur, earthquakes usually need to have a magnitude of at least 6.5 and occur at a shallow depth of maximum 100km. Neither are the case with this earthquake. 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 under the sea. | Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 5.2. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami. |
Not this earthquake. This earthquake occurred at a depth of 103 km (64 mi). Earthquakes this deep in the earth are unlikely to trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 17/09/24 11:58 (). 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.
- US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000n83y
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20240820_0000107
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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