Shallow M5.2 AFTERSHOCK hit in the North Pacific Ocean 253km from Sendai (Japan) on Sunday Afternoon.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on November 9th, 2025. Last updated December 6th, 2025.

In the North Pacific Ocean 253 kilometer from Sendai, Japan, a shallow and significant M5.2 aftershock occurred in the late afternoon of Sunday November 9th, 2025.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 157 kilometers (98 mi) off the coast of Japan, 253 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 17:49 (Tokyo Time) - Nov 9, 2025 08:49 Universal Time.
Location:	253 km ENE of Sendai, Miyagi, Japan. Coordinates 39°18'19"N 143°27'43"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.2 Detected by 139 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.049 .
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 131 kilometer (81 mi) east of the epicenter.

Multiple large cities are in proximity of today's earthquake. Sendai is located 253 km to the west-southwest. Morioka is located 203 km to the west-northwest. Hachinohe is located 214 km to the northwest.

A complete list of nearby places is included below.

Overview of nearby places

This is likely an aftershock

This earthquake is likely an aftershock of the MAG-6.8 earthquake that struck 46 mins earlier. That main earthquake hit 21 km (13 mi) north-northwest of the epicenter of this MAG-5.2 aftershock.

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. In total, 95 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

Sources

Last updated 06/12/25 00:58 (). 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.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us6000rmen
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20251109_0000158
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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