Written by on . Last updated December 3rd, 2024.

In the early afternoon of Tuesday November 26th, 2024, a significant MAG-5.3 earthquake hit in the North Pacific Ocean 83 kilometer from Ishinomaki, Japan.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 56 kilometers (35 mi) off the coast of Japan, 83 kilometer east-northeast of Ishinomaki in Miyagi. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 35 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time: Nov 26, 2024 13:31 (Tokyo Time)
- Nov 26, 2024 04:31 Universal Time.
Location: 83 km ENE of Ishinomaki, Miyagi, Japan.
Coordinates 38°39'32"N 142°11'49"E.
Map: Map of area around epicenter.
Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude: MAG 5.3
Detected by 24 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.063 .
Depth: 35 km (22 mi)
A quite shallow depth.
Tsunami Risk: Low tsunami risk
Earthquakes under MAG-6.5 do not usually cause tsunami's.
Always stay cautious - More info here.

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in Japan . Located 62 kilometer (39 mi) south-east of the epicenter of this earthquake, Ōfunato (Iwate, Japan) is the nearest significant population center.

Major cities near this earthquake: Sendai is located 124 km to the west-southwest. Niigata is located 291 km to the west-southwest. Morioka is located 147 km to the northwest.

A complete list of nearby places is included below.

Overview of nearby places

Distance Place
62 km (39 mi)
NW from epicenter
Ōfunato

Iwate, Japan.
74 km (46 mi)
NNW from epicenter
Kamaishi

Iwate, Japan.
83 km (52 mi)
WSW from epicenter
Ishinomaki

Miyagi, Japan.
89 km (55 mi)
WSW from epicenter
Yamoto

Miyagi, Japan.
92 km (57 mi)
NNW from epicenter
Yamada

Iwate, Japan.
93 km (58 mi)
W from epicenter
Wakuya

Miyagi, Japan.
93 km (58 mi)
NW from epicenter
Tōno

Iwate, Japan.
97 km (60 mi)
WNW from epicenter
Ichinoseki

Iwate, Japan.
100 km (62 mi)
W from epicenter
Kogota

Miyagi, Japan.
104 km (65 mi)
WSW from epicenter
Matsushima

Miyagi, Japan.
106 km (66 mi)
WNW from epicenter
Mizusawa

Iwate, Japan.
108 km (67 mi)
W from epicenter
Furukawa

Miyagi, Japan.
108 km (67 mi)
WSW from epicenter
Shiogama

Miyagi, Japan.
111 km (69 mi)
WNW from epicenter
Kanegasaki

Iwate, Japan.
112 km (70 mi)
WSW from epicenter
Rifu

Miyagi, Japan.
112 km (70 mi)
NNW from epicenter
Miyako

Iwate, Japan.
116 km (72 mi)
NW from epicenter
Kitakami

Iwate, Japan.
118 km (73 mi)
WSW from epicenter
Tomiya

Miyagi, Japan.
123 km (76 mi)
NW from epicenter
Hanamaki

Iwate, Japan.
124 km (77 mi)
WSW from epicenter
Sendai

Miyagi, Japan.
132 km (82 mi)
WSW from epicenter
Iwanuma

Miyagi, Japan.
136 km (85 mi)
WSW from epicenter
Watari

Miyagi, Japan.
144 km (89 mi)
WSW from epicenter
Ōkawara

Miyagi, Japan.
146 km (91 mi)
WSW from epicenter
Kakuda

Miyagi, Japan.
147 km (91 mi)
NW from epicenter
Morioka

Iwate, Japan.
156 km (97 mi)
WSW from epicenter
Shiroishi

Miyagi, Japan.
156 km (97 mi)
W from epicenter
Obanazawa

Yamagata, Japan.
157 km (98 mi)
WNW from epicenter
Yuzawa

Akita, Japan.
158 km (98 mi)
W from epicenter
Higashine

Yamagata, Japan.
160 km (99 mi)
WNW from epicenter
Yokote

Akita, Japan.
163 km (101 mi)
WSW from epicenter
Tendō

Yamagata, Japan.
165 km (103 mi)
W from epicenter
Shinjō

Yamagata, Japan.
166 km (103 mi)
WSW from epicenter
Yamagata

Yamagata, Japan.
170 km (106 mi)
W from epicenter
Sagae

Yamagata, Japan.
172 km (107 mi)
WNW from epicenter
Ōmagari

Akita, Japan.
172 km (107 mi)
SW from epicenter
Hobaramachi

Fukushima, Japan.
177 km (110 mi)
WSW from epicenter
Kaminoyama

Yamagata, Japan.
182 km (113 mi)
SW from epicenter
Fukushima

Fukushima, Japan.
195 km (121 mi)
SW from epicenter
Nihommatsu

Fukushima, Japan.
200 km (124 mi)
WSW from epicenter
Yonezawa

Yamagata, Japan.
205 km (127 mi)
W from epicenter
Sakata

Yamagata, Japan.
206 km (128 mi)
W from epicenter
Tsuruoka

Yamagata, Japan.
212 km (132 mi)
SW from epicenter
Kōriyama

Fukushima, Japan.
213 km (132 mi)
SSW from epicenter
Iwaki

Fukushima, Japan.
213 km (132 mi)
NNW from epicenter
Hachinohe

Aomori, Japan.
214 km (133 mi)
WNW from epicenter
Akita

Akita, Japan.
261 km (162 mi)
NW from epicenter
Hirosaki

Aomori, Japan.
265 km (165 mi)
SW from epicenter
Nasushiobara

Tochigi, Japan.
266 km (165 mi)
SSW from epicenter
Hitachi

Ibaraki, Japan.
271 km (168 mi)
NNW from epicenter
Aomori

Aomori, Japan.
291 km (181 mi)
WSW from epicenter
Niigata

Niigata, Japan.
299 km (186 mi)
SSW from epicenter
Mito

Ibaraki, Japan.
Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.

Shaking reported by 1 person

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 1 person has reported shaking in one place 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:

  • Sendai, Miyagi, Japan: 1 person.

Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 1 smaller aftershock occurred. A 4 magnitude earthquake hit 2 days later 28 km (17 mi) north-northwest of this earthquake.

This main shock was prefaced by 1 smaller foreshock. A 4.1 magnitude earthquake hit 11 hrs earlier nearby.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

Classification Magnitude When Where
Foreshock M 4.1 11 hrs earlier
Nov 26, 2024 02:17 (Tokyo Time)
81 km (50 mi)
SSW from Main Shock.
Main Shock
This Earthquake
M 5.3 Nov 26, 2024 13:31
(Tokyo Time)
-
Aftershock M 4.0 2 days later
Nov 28, 2024 21:36 (Tokyo Time)
28 km (17 mi)
NNW from Main Shock.
Detected MAG2.5+ earthquakes within within 100km (62 mi), that occurred in the three days before and after the main shock.

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.

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 July 28th, 2024, when a 5.3 magnitude earthquake hit 159 km (99 mi) further north-east. An even stronger magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck on March 16th, 2022.

In total, 111 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.3 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 month.

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 5.3. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.
This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 35 km (22 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 03/12/24 04:38 (). As more information on this earthquake becomes available this article will be updated. This article is automatically composed based on data originating from multiple sources.

  1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000nu6z
  2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20241126_0000041
  3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
  4. Google Maps: Static API
  5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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