In the North Pacific Ocean 264 kilometer from Sendai, Japan, a shallow and significant MAG-5.2 earthquake occurred in the night of Tuesday November 4th, 2025.
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Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 164 kilometers (102 mi) off the coast of Japan, 264 kilometer east-northeast of Sendai in Miyagi. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 10 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.
| Date and Time: | Nov 4, 2025 04:16 (Tokyo Time) - Nov 3, 2025 19:16 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 264 km ENE of Sendai, Miyagi, Japan. Coordinates 39°24'17"N 143°32'11"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.2 Detected by 20 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.069 . |
| Depth: | 10 km (6 mi) A very shallow depth. |
| Tsunami Risk: | Low tsunami risk Earthquakes under MAG-6.5 do not usually cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here. |
Nearby towns and cities
This earthquake may have been felt in Japan . Yamada in Iwate, Japan is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 136 kilometer (85 mi) east of Yamada.
Multiple major population centers exist within 300km of the earthquake that struck today. Sendai is located 264 km to the west-southwest. Morioka is located 207 km to the west. Hachinohe is located 212 km to the northwest.
A complete list of nearby places is included below.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 136 km (85 mi) W from epicenter |
Yamada Iwate, Japan. |
| 139 km (86 mi) W from epicenter |
Miyako Iwate, Japan. |
| 144 km (89 mi) W from epicenter |
Kamaishi Iwate, Japan. |
| 161 km (100 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Ōfunato Iwate, Japan. |
| 172 km (107 mi) W from epicenter |
Tōno Iwate, Japan. |
| 207 km (129 mi) W from epicenter |
Morioka Iwate, Japan. |
| 208 km (129 mi) W from epicenter |
Hanamaki Iwate, Japan. |
| 209 km (130 mi) W from epicenter |
Mizusawa Iwate, Japan. |
| 209 km (130 mi) W from epicenter |
Kanegasaki Iwate, Japan. |
| 209 km (130 mi) W from epicenter |
Kitakami Iwate, Japan. |
| 212 km (132 mi) NW from epicenter |
Hachinohe Aomori, Japan. |
| 214 km (133 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Ichinoseki Iwate, Japan. |
| 221 km (137 mi) W from epicenter |
Shizukuishi Iwate, Japan. |
| 222 km (138 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Ishinomaki Miyagi, Japan. |
| 228 km (142 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Yamoto Miyagi, Japan. |
| 229 km (142 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Wakuya Miyagi, Japan. |
| 232 km (144 mi) NW from epicenter |
Misawa Aomori, Japan. |
| 235 km (146 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Kogota Miyagi, Japan. |
| 242 km (150 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Furukawa Miyagi, Japan. |
| 243 km (151 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Matsushima Miyagi, Japan. |
| 248 km (154 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Shiogama Miyagi, Japan. |
| 250 km (155 mi) WNW from epicenter |
Hanawa Akita, Japan. |
| 252 km (157 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Rifu Miyagi, Japan. |
| 255 km (158 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Tomiya Miyagi, Japan. |
| 257 km (160 mi) W from epicenter |
Yokote Akita, Japan. |
| 262 km (163 mi) W from epicenter |
Ōmagari Akita, Japan. |
| 263 km (163 mi) W from epicenter |
Yuzawa Akita, Japan. |
| 264 km (164 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Sendai Miyagi, Japan. |
| 272 km (169 mi) WNW from epicenter |
Ōdate Akita, Japan. |
| 273 km (170 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Iwanuma Miyagi, Japan. |
| 278 km (173 mi) SW from epicenter |
Watari Miyagi, Japan. |
| 285 km (177 mi) WNW from epicenter |
Aomori Aomori, Japan. |
| 285 km (177 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Obanazawa Yamagata, Japan. |
| 286 km (178 mi) WNW from epicenter |
Takanosu Akita, Japan. |
| 286 km (178 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Ōkawara Miyagi, Japan. |
| 287 km (178 mi) NW from epicenter |
Mutsu Aomori, Japan. |
| 287 km (178 mi) WNW from epicenter |
Kuroishi Aomori, Japan. |
| 288 km (179 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Shinjō Yamagata, Japan. |
| 288 km (179 mi) SW from epicenter |
Kakuda Miyagi, Japan. |
| 290 km (180 mi) WNW from epicenter |
Namioka Aomori, Japan. |
| 292 km (181 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Higashine Yamagata, Japan. |
| 293 km (182 mi) WNW from epicenter |
Hirosaki Aomori, Japan. |
| 295 km (183 mi) W from epicenter |
Akita Akita, Japan. |
| 297 km (185 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Shiroishi Miyagi, Japan. |
| 298 km (185 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Tendō Yamagata, Japan. |
4 Aftershocks detected
This main shock was followed by 4 smaller aftershocks. Just 1 day after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-4.7 was detected 12 km (7 mi) east-southeast of this earthquake.
Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks
| Classification | Magnitude | When | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main Shock | M 4.9 |
Nov 2, 2025 18:57 (Tokyo Time) | - |
| Aftershock | M 4.6 |
6 mins later Nov 2, 2025 19:03 (Tokyo Time) | 1.6 km (1 mi) SSE from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 4.7 |
1 day later Nov 3, 2025 19:17 (Tokyo Time) | 12 km (7 mi) ESE from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 4.5 |
2 days later Nov 5, 2025 06:05 (Tokyo Time) | 72 km (45 mi) SSE from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 4.4 |
4 days later Nov 6, 2025 13:04 (Tokyo Time) | 15 km (10 mi) S from Main Shock. |
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.
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 October 4th, 2025, when a 5.9 magnitude earthquake hit 280 km (174 mi) further southwest. An even stronger magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck on March 16th, 2022.
In total, 85 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.2 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 month.
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
| 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 5.2. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami. |
This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 10 km (6 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 08/11/25 19:18 (). 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.
- US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us6000rl85
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20251103_0000402
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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