Significant M5.5 AFTERSHOCK struck on Wednesday Night in the Philippine Sea near Miyazaki (Japan).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on January 14th, 2025. Last updated January 15th, 2025.

In the Philippine Sea 45 kilometer from Miyazaki, Japan, a significant MAG-5.5 aftershock occurred in the night of Wednesday January 15th, 2025. Roughly 8 million people may have felt this earthquake.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the Philippine Sea, 36 kilometers (23 mi) off the coast of Japan, 45 kilometer south-east of Miyazaki. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 30 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Jan 15, 2025 02:12 (Tokyo Time) - Jan 14, 2025 17:12 Universal Time.
Location:	45 km SE of Miyazaki, Japan. Coordinates 31°40'60"N 131°48'8"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.5 Detected by 8 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.11 .
Depth:	30 km (19 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 8 million people exposed to shaking

An estimated 8 million have been exposed to shaking (An MMI or Modified Mercalli Intensity level II or higher) as a result of this earthquake according scientific estimates published by the USGS.

An estimated 1,212,000 people were exposed to level IV. At this level, light shaking and likely no damage can be expected. Intensity level III was experienced by the majority of people (around 6 million). In their region, weak shaking and probably no damage can be expected. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of Japan .

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in Japan . Nichinan in Miyazaki, Japan is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 42 kilometer (26 mi) east-northeast of Nichinan. Nichinan experienced an earthquake intensity (MMI Scale) of roughly IV. That level implies light shaking and likely no damage.

Major cities near this earthquake: Miyazaki is located 45 km to the northwest and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage). Fukuoka is located 249 km to the north-northwest (intensity unknown, possibly low). Kagoshima is located 119 km to the west and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage).

The table below provides an overview of all places in proximity of today's earthquake. Where available, the estimated intensity on the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale in each place is included. Places where this information is omitted likely experienced little impact.

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 V.

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 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:

• Miyakonojō, Miyazaki, Japan: 1 person.

This is likely an aftershock

Approximately 1 day before this earthquake hit, a larger 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck 26 km (16 mi) west-northwest of this one. For that reason, we classify the Mag. 5.5 earthquake as an aftershock.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

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.

Earthquakes like this happen often in the region

Earthquakes of this strength are very common in the region. In total, 30 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 4 months.

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

Sources

Last updated 15/01/25 06:58 (). This article contains currently available information about the earthquake and is automatically composed. We continue to update this article up to a few days after the earthquake occurred.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us6000pjxl
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250114_0000219
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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