Written by on . Last updated February 16th, 2025.

In the North Pacific Ocean 96 kilometer from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia, a significant M5.1 earthquake occurred in the night of Monday January 27th, 2025.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, right off the coast of Russia, 96 kilometer east of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in Kamchatka. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 56 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time: Jan 27, 2025 01:37 (Kamchatka Time)
- Jan 26, 2025 13:37 Universal Time.
Location: 96 km east of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Kamchatka, Russia.
Coordinates 53°9'21"N 160°3'14"E.
Map: Map of area around epicenter.
Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude: MAG 5.1
Detected by 12 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.089 .
Depth: 56 km (35 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 Russia . The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in Kamchatka, Russia. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is located 96 kilometer (60 mi) east of the epicenter.

Overview of nearby places

Distance Place
96 km (60 mi)
W from epicenter
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky

Kamchatka, Russia.
112 km (70 mi)
W from epicenter
Yelizovo

Kamchatka, Russia.
113 km (70 mi)
WSW from epicenter
Vilyuchinsk

Kamchatka, Russia.
Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.

Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 1 smaller aftershock occurred. A 3.9 magnitude earthquake hit 2 days later 68 km (42 mi) south of this earthquake.

In the days before this main shock, 2 smaller foreshocks were detected. A 4.7 magnitude earthquake hit 3 days earlier nearby.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

Classification Magnitude When Where
Foreshock M 4.7 3 days earlier
Jan 24, 2025 03:04 (Kamchatka Time)
24 km (15 mi)
WSW from Main Shock.
Foreshock M 4.1 2 days earlier
Jan 25, 2025 11:00 (Kamchatka Time)
33 km (21 mi)
S from Main Shock.
Main Shock
This Earthquake
M 5.1 Jan 27, 2025 01:37
(Kamchatka Time)
-
Aftershock M 3.9 2 days later
Jan 29, 2025 04:32 (Kamchatka Time)
68 km (42 mi)
S 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?

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.

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 October 27th, 2024, when a 5.2 magnitude earthquake hit 168 km (104 mi) further north. An even stronger magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck on January 30th, 2016.

In total, 44 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.1 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 3 months.

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 5.1. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.
This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 56 km (35 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 16/02/25 00:28 (). 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.

  1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us6000pmfn
  2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250126_0000104
  3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
  4. Google Maps: Static API
  5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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