Shallow M5.1 AFTERSHOCK hit in the North Pacific Ocean 259km from Sendai (Japan) on Sunday Evening.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on November 9th, 2025. Last updated December 7th, 2025.

A shallow and significant M5.1 aftershock struck in the North Pacific Ocean 259 kilometer from Sendai, Japan in the evening 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, 259 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 18:52 (Tokyo Time) - Nov 9, 2025 09:52 Universal Time.
Location:	259 km ENE of Sendai, Miyagi, Japan. Coordinates 39°22'55"N 143°29'18"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.1 Detected by 236 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.037 .
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 132 kilometer (82 mi) east of the epicenter.

Major cities near this earthquake: Sendai is located 259 km to the west-southwest. Morioka is located 204 km to the west. Hachinohe is located 210 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 an aftershock

This earthquake was an aftershock. A larger mag. 6.8 earthquake struck 15 km (9 mi) northwest in advance of this 5.1 earthquake around 2 hrs earlier.

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, 129 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 28 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 07/12/25 01:18 (). 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 us6000rmf1
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20251109_0000179
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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