In the night of Saturday December 28th, 2024, a significant MAG-5.3 earthquake hit in the North Pacific Ocean 72 kilometer from Iwaki, Japan.
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Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 61 kilometers (38 mi) off the coast of Japan, 72 kilometer east-northeast of Iwaki in Fukushima. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 46 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: | 72 km ENE of Iwaki, Fukushima, Japan. Coordinates 37°22'10"N 141°35'11"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.3 Detected by 18 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.073 . |
| Depth: | 46 km (28 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 53 kilometer (33 mi) east-southeast of the epicenter of this earthquake, Namie (Fukushima, Japan) is the nearest significant population center.
Major cities near this earthquake: Tokyo is located 252 km to the southwest. Yokohama is located 276 km to the southwest. Sendai is located 118 km to the north-northwest.
A complete list of nearby places is included below.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 53 km (33 mi) WNW from epicenter |
Namie Fukushima, Japan. |
| 72 km (45 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Iwaki Fukushima, Japan. |
| 90 km (56 mi) W from epicenter |
Funehikimachi-funehiki Fukushima, Japan. |
| 98 km (61 mi) W from epicenter |
Miharu Fukushima, Japan. |
| 98 km (61 mi) NW from epicenter |
Watari Miyagi, Japan. |
| 98 km (61 mi) NW from epicenter |
Kakuda Miyagi, Japan. |
| 99 km (62 mi) SW from epicenter |
Kitaibaraki Ibaraki, Japan. |
| 104 km (65 mi) WNW from epicenter |
Nihommatsu Fukushima, Japan. |
| 104 km (65 mi) NW from epicenter |
Iwanuma Miyagi, Japan. |
| 106 km (66 mi) W from epicenter |
Kōriyama Fukushima, Japan. |
| 106 km (66 mi) SW from epicenter |
Takahagi Ibaraki, Japan. |
| 107 km (66 mi) WNW from epicenter |
Fukushima Fukushima, Japan. |
| 107 km (66 mi) W from epicenter |
Sukagawa Fukushima, Japan. |
| 111 km (69 mi) NW from epicenter |
Shiroishi Miyagi, Japan. |
| 116 km (72 mi) NNW from epicenter |
Shiogama Miyagi, Japan. |
| 118 km (73 mi) NNW from epicenter |
Sendai Miyagi, Japan. |
| 119 km (74 mi) SW from epicenter |
Hitachi Ibaraki, Japan. |
| 119 km (74 mi) NNW from epicenter |
Ishinomaki Miyagi, Japan. |
| 120 km (75 mi) NNW from epicenter |
Rifu Miyagi, Japan. |
| 129 km (80 mi) NNW from epicenter |
Tomiya Miyagi, Japan. |
| 142 km (88 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Nasushiobara Tochigi, Japan. |
| 143 km (89 mi) SW from epicenter |
Hitachi-Naka Ibaraki, Japan. |
| 143 km (89 mi) WNW from epicenter |
Yonezawa Yamagata, Japan. |
| 143 km (89 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Kuroiso Tochigi, Japan. |
| 144 km (89 mi) SW from epicenter |
Katsuta Ibaraki, Japan. |
| 144 km (89 mi) NW from epicenter |
Yamagata Yamagata, Japan. |
| 145 km (90 mi) NNW from epicenter |
Furukawa Miyagi, Japan. |
| 149 km (93 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Ōtawara Tochigi, Japan. |
| 152 km (94 mi) SW from epicenter |
Mito Ibaraki, Japan. |
| 153 km (95 mi) NW from epicenter |
Tendō Yamagata, Japan. |
| 176 km (109 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Utsunomiya Tochigi, Japan. |
| 177 km (110 mi) NNW from epicenter |
Ichinoseki Iwate, Japan. |
| 186 km (116 mi) SW from epicenter |
Tsukuba Ibaraki, Japan. |
| 188 km (117 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Kanuma Tochigi, Japan. |
| 190 km (118 mi) SSW from epicenter |
Katori-shi Chiba, Japan. |
| 199 km (124 mi) SW from epicenter |
Oyama Tochigi, Japan. |
| 221 km (137 mi) SW from epicenter |
Kashiwa Chiba, Japan. |
| 230 km (143 mi) SW from epicenter |
Koshigaya Saitama, Japan. |
| 232 km (144 mi) SW from epicenter |
Matsudo Chiba, Japan. |
| 234 km (145 mi) SW from epicenter |
Honchō Chiba, Japan. |
| 234 km (145 mi) WNW from epicenter |
Niigata Niigata, Japan. |
| 237 km (147 mi) SSW from epicenter |
Chiba Chiba, Japan. |
| 237 km (147 mi) SW from epicenter |
Saitama Saitama, Japan. |
| 241 km (150 mi) SW from epicenter |
Kawaguchi Saitama, Japan. |
| 247 km (153 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Maebashi Gunma, Japan. |
| 248 km (154 mi) SW from epicenter |
Kawagoe Saitama, Japan. |
| 252 km (157 mi) SW from epicenter |
Tokyo Tokyo, Japan. |
| 257 km (160 mi) SW from epicenter |
Tokorozawa Saitama, Japan. |
| 265 km (165 mi) SW from epicenter |
Kawasaki Kanagawa, Japan. |
| 276 km (171 mi) SW from epicenter |
Yokohama Kanagawa, Japan. |
| 278 km (173 mi) SW from epicenter |
Hachiōji Tokyo, Japan. |
| 279 km (173 mi) SW from epicenter |
Machida Tokyo, Japan. |
| 289 km (180 mi) SW from epicenter |
Yokosuka Kanagawa, Japan. |
| 291 km (181 mi) NNW from epicenter |
Akita Akita, Japan. |
| 294 km (183 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Nakano Nagano, Japan. |
| 294 km (183 mi) SW from epicenter |
Uenohara Yamanashi, Japan. |
Shaking reported by 3 people
People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 3 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:
- Sendai, Miyagi, Japan: 2 people.
- Inzai, Chiba, Japan: 1 person.
Risk of aftershocks?
This earthquake did not have any significant foreshocks nor aftershocks occurring within 100km (62 mi) of its epicenter.
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 (97 mi) further north-northeast. An even stronger magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck on March 16th, 2022.
In total, 92 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 46 km (28 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 24/01/25 23:18 (). 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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