Shallow M5.1 FORESHOCK hit in the North Pacific Ocean 257km from Sendai (Japan) on Sunday Morning.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on November 8th, 2025. Last updated December 5th, 2025.

A shallow and significant M5.1 foreshock struck in the North Pacific Ocean 257 kilometer from Sendai, Japan in the morning of Sunday November 9th, 2025.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 159 kilometers (99 mi) off the coast of Japan, 257 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 9, 2025 07:26 (Tokyo Time) - Nov 8, 2025 22:26 Universal Time.
Location:	257 km ENE of Sendai, Miyagi, Japan. Coordinates 39°21'24"N 143°29'11"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.1 Detected by 188 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.041 .
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 . The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Yamada in Iwate, Japan. Yamada is located 133 kilometer (83 mi) east of the epicenter.

Major cities near this earthquake: Sendai is located 257 km to the west-southwest. Morioka is located 204 km to the west. Hachinohe is located 212 km to the northwest.

The table below provides an overview of all places in proximity of today's earthquake.

Overview of nearby places

This is likely a foreshock

This earthquake was followed by a stronger MAG-6.8 earthquake, classifying this earthquake as a foreshock.

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 happen often in the region

Earthquakes of this strength are very common in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since November 8th, 2025, when a 5.5 magnitude earthquake hit 16 km (10 mi) further north-northwest. An even stronger magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck on March 16th, 2022.

In total, 121 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.1 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 30 days.

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 05/12/25 01:08 (). 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 us6000rmay
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20251108_0000378
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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