Significant M5.5 Earthquake hit in the North Pacific Ocean near Kushiro (Japan) on Thursday Afternoon.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on September 26th, 2024. Last updated October 15th, 2024.

A significant Magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck in the North Pacific Ocean 57 kilometer from Kushiro, Japan in the late afternoon of Thursday September 26th, 2024. Shaking may have been felt by a total of 1 million people.

Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, right off the coast of Japan (12 mi offshore), 57 kilometer east-southeast of Kushiro in Hokkaido. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 58 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Sep 26, 2024 16:01 (Tokyo Time) - Sep 26, 2024 07:01 Universal Time.
Location:	57 km ESE of Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan. Coordinates 42°48'54"N 145°2'22"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.5 Detected by 19 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.071 .
Depth:	58 km (36 mi) A quite shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	V Moderate 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 1 million people exposed to shaking

This earthquake may have been felt by around 1 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.

Moderate shaking and very light damage may have been experienced by an estimated 970 people. At V, it is the highest MMI level this earthquake has caused. The majority of people (roughly 630 thousand) live in an area exposed to level III, where weak shaking and probably no damage is expected.

People in 2 countries have been exposed to shaking. In Japan , around 1 million people, with impact levels up to V (moderate shaking, very light damage). People were exposed to shaking in Russia as well.

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
0	I	Not noticable	None
10,130	II	Very weak	None
628,300	III	Weak	Probably none
367,300	IV	Light	Likely none
970	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 . Kushiro in Hokkaido, Japan is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 57 kilometer (35 mi) east-southeast of Kushiro. Kushiro experienced an earthquake intensity (MMI Scale) of roughly IV. That level implies light shaking and likely no damage.

Multiple major population centers exist within 300km of the earthquake that struck today. Kushiro is located 57 km to the west-northwest and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage). Asahikawa is located 241 km to the west-northwest (intensity unknown, possibly low). Obihiro is located 150 km to the west and experienced an intensity of III (weak shaking, probably 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)
57 km (35 mi) WNW from epicenter	Kushiro Hokkaido, Japan.	IV Light
71 km (44 mi) NE from epicenter	Nemuro Hokkaido, Japan.	IV Light
82 km (51 mi) N from epicenter	Nakashibetsu Hokkaido, Japan.	IV Light
94 km (58 mi) N from epicenter	Shibetsu Hokkaido, Japan.	IV Light
136 km (85 mi) NW from epicenter	Motomachi Hokkaido, Japan.	III Weak
144 km (89 mi) NW from epicenter	Kitami Hokkaido, Japan.	III Weak
148 km (92 mi) NNW from epicenter	Abashiri Hokkaido, Japan.	III Weak
150 km (93 mi) W from epicenter	Obihiro Hokkaido, Japan.	III Weak
151 km (94 mi) W from epicenter	Otofuke Hokkaido, Japan.	III Weak
218 km (135 mi) NW from epicenter	Mombetsu Hokkaido, Japan.	II Weak
224 km (139 mi) WNW from epicenter	Shimo-furano Hokkaido, Japan.
225 km (140 mi) WSW from epicenter	Shizunai-furukawachō Hokkaido, Japan.
241 km (150 mi) WNW from epicenter	Asahikawa Hokkaido, Japan.
244 km (152 mi) WNW from epicenter	Ashibetsu Hokkaido, Japan.
262 km (163 mi) WNW from epicenter	Fukagawa Hokkaido, Japan.
262 km (163 mi) NW from epicenter	Minamishibetsuchō Hokkaido, Japan.
265 km (165 mi) WNW from epicenter	Sunagawa Hokkaido, Japan.
265 km (165 mi) WNW from epicenter	Bibai Hokkaido, Japan.
267 km (166 mi) WNW from epicenter	Takikawa Hokkaido, Japan.
269 km (167 mi) NW from epicenter	Nayoro Hokkaido, Japan.
270 km (168 mi) W from epicenter	Iwamizawa Hokkaido, Japan.
276 km (171 mi) W from epicenter	Chitose Hokkaido, Japan.
281 km (175 mi) W from epicenter	Tomakomai Hokkaido, Japan.
283 km (176 mi) W from epicenter	Kitahiroshima Hokkaido, Japan.
286 km (178 mi) W from epicenter	Ebetsu Hokkaido, Japan.
290 km (180 mi) W from epicenter	Tōbetsu Hokkaido, 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 V.

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 2 people

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

Otofuke, Hokkaido, Japan: 1 person.
Tomakomai, Hokkaido, Japan: 1 person.

Risk of aftershocks?

This earthquake did not have any significant foreshocks nor aftershocks occurring within 100km (62 mi) of its epicenter.

Earthquakes can create aftershocks. These are generally at least 1 magnitude lower than any main shock, and as time passes the chance and strength of aftershocks decreases.

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 November 19th, 2023, when a 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit 292 km (182 mi) further southwest. An even stronger magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck on January 14th, 2016.

In total, 36 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.5 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 3 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 5.5. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 58 km (36 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 15/10/24 00:58 (). 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.