On Saturday Night a Significant M5.7 Earthquake struck in the North Pacific Ocean near Kushiro (Japan).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on October 24th, 2025. Last updated December 4th, 2025.

In the North Pacific Ocean 96 kilometer from Kushiro, Japan, a significant MAG-5.7 earthquake occurred in the night of Saturday October 25th, 2025. Around 0.8 million people have been exposed to shaking.

Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 23 kilometers (14 mi) off the coast of Japan, 96 kilometer east of Kushiro in Hokkaido. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 50 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Oct 25, 2025 01:40 (Tokyo Time) - Oct 24, 2025 16:40 Universal Time.
Location:	96 km east of Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan. Coordinates 42°57'48"N 145°33'5"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.7 Detected by 31 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.056 .
Depth:	50 km (31 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 0.8 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 0.8 million 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 282,500 people. At IV, it is the highest MMI level this earthquake has caused. Intensity level III was experienced by the majority of people (around 490 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 0.8 million people, with impact levels up to IV (light shaking, likely no damage). In Russia, shaking was experienced too.

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
0	I	Not noticable	None
3,470	II	Very weak	None
492,900	III	Weak	Probably none
282,500	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 . Nemuro in Hokkaido, Japan is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 40 kilometer (25 mi) south of Nemuro. The intensity of shaking and damage in Nemuro is estimated to be around level IV on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (light shaking, likely no damage).

Multiple major population centers exist within 300km of the earthquake that struck today. Kushiro is located 96 km to the west and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage). Asahikawa is located 273 km to the west-northwest (intensity unknown, possibly low). Obihiro is located 191 km to the west and experienced an intensity of III (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)
40 km (25 mi) N from epicenter	Nemuro Hokkaido, Japan.	IV Light
80 km (50 mi) NW from epicenter	Nakashibetsu Hokkaido, Japan.	IV Light
84 km (52 mi) NNW from epicenter	Shibetsu Hokkaido, Japan.	IV Light
96 km (60 mi) W from epicenter	Kushiro Hokkaido, Japan.	IV Light
152 km (94 mi) NW from epicenter	Motomachi Hokkaido, Japan.	III Weak
157 km (98 mi) NW from epicenter	Abashiri Hokkaido, Japan.	III Weak
163 km (101 mi) NW from epicenter	Kitami Hokkaido, Japan.	III Weak
191 km (119 mi) W from epicenter	Otofuke Hokkaido, Japan.	III Weak
191 km (119 mi) W from epicenter	Obihiro Hokkaido, Japan.	III Weak
235 km (146 mi) NW from epicenter	Mombetsu Hokkaido, Japan.	II Weak
261 km (162 mi) W from epicenter	Shimo-furano Hokkaido, Japan.
270 km (168 mi) WSW from epicenter	Shizunai-furukawachō Hokkaido, Japan.
273 km (170 mi) WNW from epicenter	Asahikawa Hokkaido, Japan.
279 km (173 mi) WNW from epicenter	Ashibetsu Hokkaido, Japan.
288 km (179 mi) WNW from epicenter	Minamishibetsuchō Hokkaido, Japan.
293 km (182 mi) WNW from epicenter	Nayoro Hokkaido, Japan.
296 km (184 mi) WNW from epicenter	Fukagawa Hokkaido, Japan.

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

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 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:

Shibetsu, Hokkaido, Japan: 1 person.

Aftershocks detected

In the days before this main shock, 1 smaller foreshock was detected. Nearby this earthquake a foreshock struck 2 days earlier. It measured a magnitude of 5.2

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 5.2	2 days earlier Oct 22, 2025 18:17 (Tokyo Time)	14 km (9 mi) W from Main Shock.
Main Shock This Earthquake	M 5.7	Oct 25, 2025 01:40 (Tokyo Time)	-

More earthquakes coming?

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 June 21st, 2025, when a 6 magnitude earthquake hit 70 km (43 mi) further east. An even stronger magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck on January 14th, 2016.

In total, 14 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.7 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 9 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 5.7. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 50 km (31 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 04/12/25 22:58 (). 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.