Significant M5.9 Earthquake hit in the North Pacific Ocean 191km from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (Russia) on Saturday Night.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on September 19th, 2025. Last updated November 17th, 2025.

A significant MAG-5.9 earthquake struck in the North Pacific Ocean 191 kilometer from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia in the night of Saturday September 20th, 2025. Shaking may have been felt by a total of 260 thousand people.

Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, right off the coast of Russia (10 mi offshore), 191 kilometer south-southwest of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in Kamchatka. The center of this earthquake had an intermediate depth of 85 km.

Date and Time:	Sep 20, 2025 02:55 (Kamchatka Time) - Sep 19, 2025 14:55 Universal Time.
Location:	191 km SSW of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Kamchatka, Russia. Coordinates 51°25'19"N 157°47'40"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.9 Detected by 11 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.093 .
Depth:	85 km (53 mi) An intermediate 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 260 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 260 thousand have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

Light shaking and likely no damage may have been experienced by an estimated 4,310 people. At IV, it is the highest MMI level this earthquake has caused. The majority of people (roughly 250 thousand) live in an area exposed to level III, where weak shaking and probably no damage is expected. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of Russia .

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
0	I	Not noticable	None
0	II	Very weak	None
251,100	III	Weak	Probably none
4,310	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 Russia . The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Vilyuchinsk in Kamchatka, Russia. Vilyuchinsk is located 173 kilometer (107 mi) south-southwest of the epicenter. The intensity of shaking and damage in Vilyuchinsk is estimated to be around level III on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (weak shaking, probably no damage).

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place	Intensity (MMI)
173 km (107 mi) NNE from epicenter	Vilyuchinsk Kamchatka, Russia.	III Weak
191 km (119 mi) NNE from epicenter	Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Kamchatka, Russia.	III Weak
201 km (125 mi) N from epicenter	Yelizovo Kamchatka, Russia.	III Weak

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 V.

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.

4 Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 4 smaller aftershocks occurred. At a distance of 21 km (13 mi) north-east of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 2 days later. It measured a magnitude of 4.5

This main shock was prefaced by 3 smaller foreshocks. Nearby this earthquake a foreshock struck 2 days earlier. It measured a magnitude of 4.4

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

Detected MAG2.5+ earthquakes within within 100km (62 mi), that occurred in the three days before and after the main shock.
Classification	Magnitude	When	Where
Foreshock	M 4.2	2 days earlier Sep 17, 2025 19:43 (Kamchatka Time)	99 km (61 mi) ESE from Main Shock.
Foreshock	M 4.1	2 days earlier Sep 17, 2025 22:57 (Kamchatka Time)	70 km (43 mi) NE from Main Shock.
Foreshock	M 4.4	2 days earlier Sep 18, 2025 04:35 (Kamchatka Time)	53 km (33 mi) WSW from Main Shock.
Main Shock This Earthquake	M 5.9	Sep 20, 2025 02:55 (Kamchatka Time)	-
Aftershock	M 4.4	19 hrs later Sep 20, 2025 21:46 (Kamchatka Time)	94 km (58 mi) SE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.2	21 hrs later Sep 21, 2025 00:08 (Kamchatka Time)	69 km (43 mi) SW from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.5	2 days later Sep 22, 2025 09:54 (Kamchatka Time)	21 km (13 mi) NE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.3	3 days later Sep 23, 2025 02:27 (Kamchatka Time)	91 km (57 mi) ENE from Main Shock.

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.

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 18th, 2025, when a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit 270 km (168 mi) further north-east. An even stronger magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck on July 29th, 2025.

In total, 42 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.9 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 5.9. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 85 km (53 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 17/11/25 23:38 (). 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.