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

Written by Earthquakelist.org on October 24th, 2025. Last updated December 23rd, 2025.

In the North Pacific Ocean 42 kilometer from Nemuro, 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, 34 kilometers (21 mi) off the coast of Japan, 42 kilometer south-southeast of Nemuro in Hokkaido. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 34 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:	42 km SSE of Nemuro, Hokkaido, Japan. Coordinates 42°58'18"N 145°45'3"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:	34 km (21 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 42 kilometer (26 mi) south-southeast 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 112 km to the west and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage). Asahikawa is located 288 km to the west-northwest (intensity unknown, possibly low). Obihiro is located 207 km to the west (intensity unknown, possibly low).

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)
42 km (26 mi) NNW from epicenter	Nemuro Hokkaido, Japan.	IV Light
90 km (56 mi) NW from epicenter	Nakashibetsu Hokkaido, Japan.	IV Light
91 km (57 mi) NW from epicenter	Shibetsu Hokkaido, Japan.	IV Light
112 km (70 mi) W from epicenter	Kushiro Hokkaido, Japan.	IV Light
164 km (102 mi) NW from epicenter	Motomachi Hokkaido, Japan.	III Weak
167 km (104 mi) NW from epicenter	Abashiri Hokkaido, Japan.	III Weak
176 km (109 mi) WNW from epicenter	Kitami Hokkaido, Japan.	III Weak
207 km (129 mi) W from epicenter	Obihiro Hokkaido, Japan.
207 km (129 mi) W from epicenter	Otofuke Hokkaido, Japan.
247 km (153 mi) NW from epicenter	Mombetsu Hokkaido, Japan.
276 km (171 mi) W from epicenter	Shimo-furano Hokkaido, Japan.
286 km (178 mi) WSW from epicenter	Shizunai-furukawachō Hokkaido, Japan.
288 km (179 mi) WNW from epicenter	Asahikawa Hokkaido, Japan.
295 km (183 mi) W from epicenter	Ashibetsu 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 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.

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)	30 km (19 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 are common in the region

Earthquakes of this strength occur quite regularly in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since June 21st, 2025, when a 6 magnitude earthquake hit 54 km (33 mi) further east. An even stronger magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck on January 14th, 2016.

In total, 12 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 10 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 34 km (21 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 23/12/25 01:58 (). 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.