In the night of Saturday December 28th, 2024, a significant M5.3 earthquake hit in the North Pacific Ocean 65 kilometer from Iwaki, Japan.
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Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 48 kilometers (30 mi) off the coast of Japan, 65 kilometer north-east of Iwaki in Fukushima. 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: | Dec 28, 2024 04:10 (Tokyo Time) - Dec 27, 2024 19:10 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 65 km NE of Iwaki, Fukushima, Japan. Coordinates 37°23'37"N 141°28'24"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.3 Detected by 14 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.083 . |
| Depth: | 58 km (36 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 . Namie in Fukushima, Japan is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 43 kilometer (27 mi) east-southeast of Namie.
Major cities near this earthquake: Tokyo is located 247 km to the southwest. Yokohama is located 272 km to the southwest. Sendai is located 111 km to the north-northwest.
A complete list of nearby places is included below.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 43 km (27 mi) WNW from epicenter |
Namie Fukushima, Japan. |
| 65 km (40 mi) SW from epicenter |
Iwaki Fukushima, Japan. |
| 79 km (49 mi) W from epicenter |
Funehikimachi-funehiki Fukushima, Japan. |
| 88 km (55 mi) W from epicenter |
Miharu Fukushima, Japan. |
| 89 km (55 mi) NW from epicenter |
Kakuda Miyagi, Japan. |
| 90 km (56 mi) NW from epicenter |
Watari Miyagi, Japan. |
| 92 km (57 mi) WNW from epicenter |
Yanagawamachi-saiwaichō Fukushima, Japan. |
| 93 km (58 mi) SW from epicenter |
Kitaibaraki Ibaraki, Japan. |
| 94 km (58 mi) WNW from epicenter |
Nihommatsu Fukushima, Japan. |
| 94 km (58 mi) WNW from epicenter |
Hobaramachi Fukushima, Japan. |
| 95 km (59 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Ishikawa Fukushima, Japan. |
| 96 km (60 mi) NW from epicenter |
Iwanuma Miyagi, Japan. |
| 96 km (60 mi) W from epicenter |
Kōriyama Fukushima, Japan. |
| 96 km (60 mi) W from epicenter |
Motomiya Fukushima, Japan. |
| 97 km (60 mi) W from epicenter |
Sukagawa Fukushima, Japan. |
| 97 km (60 mi) WNW from epicenter |
Fukushima Fukushima, Japan. |
| 98 km (61 mi) NW from epicenter |
Ōkawara Miyagi, Japan. |
| 101 km (63 mi) NW from epicenter |
Shiroishi Miyagi, Japan. |
| 101 km (63 mi) SW from epicenter |
Takahagi Ibaraki, Japan. |
| 110 km (68 mi) NNW from epicenter |
Shiogama Miyagi, Japan. |
| 111 km (69 mi) NNW from epicenter |
Sendai Miyagi, Japan. |
| 113 km (70 mi) NNW from epicenter |
Rifu Miyagi, Japan. |
| 115 km (71 mi) N from epicenter |
Ishinomaki Miyagi, Japan. |
| 115 km (71 mi) SW from epicenter |
Hitachi Ibaraki, Japan. |
| 122 km (76 mi) NNW from epicenter |
Tomiya Miyagi, Japan. |
| 133 km (83 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Nasushiobara Tochigi, Japan. |
| 133 km (83 mi) WNW from epicenter |
Yonezawa Yamagata, Japan. |
| 135 km (84 mi) NW from epicenter |
Yamagata Yamagata, Japan. |
| 135 km (84 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Kuroiso Tochigi, Japan. |
| 139 km (86 mi) SW from epicenter |
Hitachi-Naka Ibaraki, Japan. |
| 139 km (86 mi) NNW from epicenter |
Furukawa Miyagi, Japan. |
| 140 km (87 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Ōtawara Tochigi, Japan. |
| 140 km (87 mi) SW from epicenter |
Katsuta Ibaraki, Japan. |
| 144 km (89 mi) NW from epicenter |
Tendō Yamagata, Japan. |
| 147 km (91 mi) SW from epicenter |
Mito Ibaraki, Japan. |
| 169 km (105 mi) SW from epicenter |
Utsunomiya Tochigi, Japan. |
| 172 km (107 mi) N from epicenter |
Ichinoseki Iwate, Japan. |
| 180 km (112 mi) SW from epicenter |
Tsukuba Ibaraki, Japan. |
| 181 km (112 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Kanuma Tochigi, Japan. |
| 192 km (119 mi) SW from epicenter |
Oyama Tochigi, Japan. |
| 216 km (134 mi) SW from epicenter |
Kashiwa Chiba, Japan. |
| 224 km (139 mi) WNW from epicenter |
Niigata Niigata, Japan. |
| 225 km (140 mi) SW from epicenter |
Koshigaya Saitama, Japan. |
| 228 km (142 mi) SW from epicenter |
Matsudo Chiba, Japan. |
| 230 km (143 mi) SW from epicenter |
Honchō Chiba, Japan. |
| 231 km (144 mi) SW from epicenter |
Saitama Saitama, Japan. |
| 233 km (145 mi) SSW from epicenter |
Chiba Chiba, Japan. |
| 237 km (147 mi) SW from epicenter |
Kawaguchi Saitama, Japan. |
| 240 km (149 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Maebashi Gunma, Japan. |
| 247 km (153 mi) SW from epicenter |
Tokyo Tokyo, Japan. |
| 261 km (162 mi) SW from epicenter |
Kawasaki Kanagawa, Japan. |
| 272 km (169 mi) SW from epicenter |
Hachiōji Tokyo, Japan. |
| 272 km (169 mi) SW from epicenter |
Yokohama Kanagawa, Japan. |
| 284 km (176 mi) NNW from epicenter |
Akita Akita, Japan. |
| 297 km (185 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Saku Nagano, Japan. |
| 298 km (185 mi) SW from epicenter |
Ōtsuki Yamanashi, Japan. |
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:
- Inzai, Chiba, Japan: 1 person.
- Sendai, Miyagi, Japan: 1 person.
Risk of aftershocks?
We monitor for foreshocks or aftershocks that have a magnitude of 2.5+ and occur within 100km (62 mi) of the epicenter of this earthquake. So far no such earthquakes have been detected.
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 November 26th, 2024, when a 5.3 magnitude earthquake hit 157 km (98 mi) further north-northeast. An even stronger magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck on March 16th, 2022.
In total, 89 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
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 58 km (36 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 01/01/25 19:28 (). 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.
- US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us6000pfz8
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20241227_0000245
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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