In the North Pacific Ocean 166 kilometer from Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, a shallow and significant M5.1 earthquake occurred in the night of Friday April 4th, 2025. Another country near the epicenter is Guam.
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Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 160 kilometers (100 mi) off the coast of Northern Mariana Islands, 166 kilometer south-east of Saipan. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 10 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.
| Date and Time: | Apr 4, 2025 04:42 (Saipan Time) - Apr 3, 2025 18:42 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 166 km SE of Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. Coordinates 14°11'54"N 146°53'9"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.1 Detected by 272 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.034 . |
| Depth: | 10 km (6 mi) A very 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
2 countries can be found within 300km of the epicenter of this earthquake: Northern Mariana Islands and Guam .
The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Saipan in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. Saipan is located 166 kilometer (103 mi) south-east of the epicenter.
A complete list of nearby places is included below.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 166 km (103 mi) NW from epicenter |
Saipan Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. |
| 228 km (142 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Yigo Village Yigo, Guam. |
| 234 km (145 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Dededo Village Dededo, Guam. |
| 240 km (149 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Mangilao Village Mangilao, Guam. |
| 241 km (150 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Tamuning-Tumon-Harmon Village Tamuning, Guam. |
| 241 km (150 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Tamuning Tamuning, Guam. |
| 244 km (152 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Hagåtña Hagatna, Guam. |
| 244 km (152 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Guam Government House Hagatna, Guam. |
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.
The risk of aftershocks decreases rapidly over time. Usually, aftershocks are at least one order of magnitude lower than a main shock.
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 March 29th, 2025, when a 5.2 magnitude earthquake hit 212 km (132 mi) further south-southeast. An even stronger magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck on August 28th, 2018.
In total, 45 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
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 10 km (6 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 28/04/25 01:58 (). 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 us6000q3sh
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250403_0000220
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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