Strong M6.8 Earthquake hit in the Philippine Sea near Miyazaki (Japan) on Monday Evening.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on January 13th, 2025. Last updated January 15th, 2025.

In the evening of Monday January 13th, 2025, a strong MAG-6.8 earthquake hit in the Philippine Sea 19 kilometer from Miyazaki, Japan. The USGS has indicated there is a potential risk at tsunami's following this earthquake.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the Philippine Sea, right off the coast of Japan (5 mi offshore), 19 kilometer south-east of Miyazaki. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 36 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Jan 13, 2025 21:19 (Tokyo Time) - Jan 13, 2025 12:19 Universal Time.
Location:	19 km SE of Miyazaki, Japan. Coordinates 31°48'22"N 131°33'54"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 6.8 Detected by 11 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.033 .
Depth:	36 km (22 mi) A quite shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VI Strong On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Potential tsunami risk The USGS has indicated there is a potential risk at tsunami's following this earthquake. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Potential tsunami risk

There is a potential tsunami risk in the aftermath of this earthquake, immediately evacuate to higher grounds away from coastal areas and monitor advice from local authorities. The US Geographic Survey organization has indicated a potential risk for tsunami's following this earthquake.

Tsunami Risk Factors

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 100% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact.

Roughly 11 million people exposed to shaking

This earthquake may have been felt by around 11 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.

An estimated 371,500 people were exposed to level VI. At this level, strong shaking and probably light damage can be expected. The majority of people (roughly 7.1 million) live in an area exposed to level IV, where light shaking and likely no damage is expected. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of Japan .

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in Japan . Located 19 kilometer (12 mi) south-east of the epicenter of this earthquake, Miyazaki (Miyazaki, Japan) is the nearest significant population center. The intensity of shaking and damage in Miyazaki is estimated to be around level VI on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (strong shaking, probably light damage).

Major cities near this earthquake: Miyazaki is located 19 km to the northwest and experienced an intensity of VI (strong shaking, probably light damage). Busan is located 435 km to the north-northwest (intensity unknown, possibly low). Fukuoka is located 227 km to the north-northwest (intensity unknown, possibly low).

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

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 VI.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Shaking reported by 34 people in 2 countries

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 34 people have reported shaking in 24 places in 2 countries (Japan, Korea (South)).We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

• Kagoshima, Kagoshima, Japan: 5 people.
• Iwakuni, Yamaguchi, Japan: 3 people.
• Miyazaki, Miyazaki, Japan: 3 people.
• Beppu, Ōita, Japan: 2 people.
• Tokyo, Tokio, Japan: 2 people.
• Imabari, Ehime, Japan: 1 person.
• Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan: 1 person.
• Ōsaka, Ōsaka, Japan: 1 person.
• Saiki, Ōita, Japan: 1 person.
• Yonago, Tottori, Japan: 1 person.

8 Aftershocks detected

Since this main shock, 8 smaller aftershocks were detected. Just 1 day after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-5.5 was detected 26 km (16 mi) east-southeast of this earthquake.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

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.

This is an unusually powerful earthquake

Earthquakes of this strength are not so common in the region, but it's not the first time. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since August 8th, 2024, when a 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit 8 km (5 mi) further southwest. That was also the heaviest earthquake to hit the region in the past 10 years.

In total, 2 earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.8 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 5 years.

Sources

Last updated 15/01/25 07:48 (). 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.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us6000pjny
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250113_0000131
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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