Significant M5.4 Earthquake hit in the North Pacific Ocean 151km from Nemuro (Japan) on Friday Morning.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on May 29th, 2025. Last updated June 17th, 2025.

In the morning of Friday May 30th, 2025, a significant MAG-5.4 earthquake hit in the North Pacific Ocean 151 kilometer from Nemuro, Japan. Roughly 90 thousand people may have felt this earthquake.

Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 175 kilometers (108 mi) off the coast of Japan, 151 kilometer east-northeast of Nemuro in Hokkaido. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 66 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	May 30, 2025 07:23 (Tokyo Time) - May 29, 2025 22:23 Universal Time.
Location:	151 km ENE of Nemuro, Hokkaido, Japan. Coordinates 43°51'50"N 147°18'4"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.4 Detected by 18 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.073 .
Depth:	66 km (41 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 90 thousand people exposed to shaking

The USGS has published a report estimating the number of people exposed to this earthquake. Acoording to their analysis, roughly 90 thousand have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is IV, which corresponds with light shaking and likely no damage. Roughly 6,140 people are expected to be exposed to this level. Intensity level III was experienced by the majority of people (around 80 thousand). In their region, weak shaking and probably no damage can be expected.

People in 2 countries have been exposed to shaking. In Japan , around 60 thousand people, with impact levels up to IV (light shaking, likely no damage). Roughly 20 thousand people were exposed to shaking in Russia .

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
0	I	Not noticable	None
60	II	Very weak	None
82,390	III	Weak	Probably none
6,140	IV	Light	Likely none
0	V	Moderate	Very light
0	VI	Strong	Light
0	VII	Very Strong	Moderate
0	VIII	Severe	Moderate to heavy
0	IX	Violent	Heavy
0	X	Extreme	Very heavy

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in Japan . Located 151 kilometer (94 mi) east-northeast of the epicenter of this earthquake, Nemuro (Hokkaido, Japan) is the nearest significant population center. The intensity of shaking and damage in Nemuro is estimated to be around level III on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (weak shaking, probably 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

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place	Intensity (MMI)
151 km (94 mi) WSW from epicenter	Nemuro Hokkaido, Japan.	III Weak
176 km (109 mi) W from epicenter	Shibetsu Hokkaido, Japan.	III Weak
190 km (118 mi) W from epicenter	Nakashibetsu Hokkaido, Japan.	III Weak
243 km (151 mi) W from epicenter	Abashiri Hokkaido, Japan.
256 km (159 mi) WSW from epicenter	Kushiro Hokkaido, Japan.
257 km (160 mi) W from epicenter	Motomachi Hokkaido, Japan.
274 km (170 mi) W from epicenter	Kitami Hokkaido, Japan.

Earthquake Intensity Map

The maximum intensity (MMI Scale) caused by this earthquake is IV. The map below shows in which areas this earthquake was the most and least impactful. It is based on data from the US Geographic Survey.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Earthquake Intensity Map based on Shakemap Data provided by USGS.

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 China.We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

Shanghai, Schanghai, China: 1 person.

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.

In only six percent of cases, significant earthquakes are followed by a larger main shock, making the current earthquake a foreshock. While the chance of this happening is not so large, it is adviced to maintain cautiousness in the hours and days following a major 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 September 26th, 2024, when a 5.5 magnitude earthquake hit 213 km (132 mi) further west-southwest. An even stronger magnitude 7 earthquake struck on February 13th, 2020.

In total, 25 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.4 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 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 5.4. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 66 km (41 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 17/06/25 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.