Shallow M6.0 Earthquake hit in the North Pacific Ocean near Kushiro (Japan) on Saturday Afternoon.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on May 31st, 2025. Last updated June 17th, 2025.

A shallow and strong M6.0 earthquake struck in the North Pacific Ocean 77 kilometer from Kushiro, Japan in the late afternoon of Saturday May 31st, 2025. Roughly 1.3 million people may have felt this earthquake.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 71 kilometers (44 mi) off the coast of Japan, 77 kilometer south of Kushiro in Hokkaido. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 21 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	May 31, 2025 17:37 (Tokyo Time) - May 31, 2025 08:37 Universal Time.
Location:	77 km south of Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan. Coordinates 42°17'39"N 144°31'18"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 6.0 Detected by 31 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.056 .
Depth:	21 km (13 mi) A very 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 1.3 million people exposed to shaking

The USGS has published a report estimating the number of people exposed to this earthquake. Acoording to their analysis, roughly 1.3 million 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 552,500 people are expected to be exposed to this level. Intensity level III was experienced by the majority of people (around 0.8 million). In their region, weak shaking and probably no damage can be expected.

People in 2 countries have been exposed to shaking. Roughly 1.3 million people were exposed to shaking in Japan , with level IV (light shaking, likely no damage) as the highest recorded. People were exposed to shaking in Russia as well.

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in Japan . Kushiro in Hokkaido, Japan is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 77 kilometer (48 mi) south of Kushiro. The intensity of shaking and damage in Kushiro is estimated to be around level IV on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (light shaking, likely no damage).

Multiple large cities are in proximity of today's earthquake. Sapporo is located 273 km to the west-northwest (intensity unknown, possibly low). Kushiro is located 77 km to the north and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage). Asahikawa is located 240 km to the northwest and experienced an intensity of III (weak shaking, probably no damage).

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 intensity in shaking and damage by this earthquake is illustrated through the map below. The highest intensity measured for this earthquake is IV.

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:

• Nakashibetsu, Hokkaido, Japan: 1 person.

7 Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 7 smaller aftershocks occurred. At a distance of 94 km (58 mi) southwest of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 1 day later. It measured a magnitude of 5.8

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.

The chance that a significant earthquake like this one is followed by an even larger earthquake is not so large. On average, scientists estimate a 94% chance that a major earthquake will not be followed by an even larger one. It is still adviced to be aware of this risk

Earthquakes like this are common in the region

Earthquakes of this strength occur quite regularly in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since June 11th, 2023, when a 6.2 magnitude earthquake hit 217 km (135 mi) further west. An even stronger magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck on January 14th, 2016.

In total, 10 earthquakes with a magnitude of 6 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 year.

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 17/06/25 10:18 (). As more information on this earthquake becomes available this article will be updated. This article is automatically composed based on data originating from multiple sources.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us6000qh1r
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250531_0000083
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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