On Sunday Afternoon a Shallow M6.4 AFTERSHOCK struck in the North Pacific Ocean 186km from Morioka (Japan).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on November 9th, 2025. Last updated December 5th, 2025.

In the late afternoon of Sunday November 9th, 2025, a shallow and strong Magnitude 6.4 aftershock hit in the North Pacific Ocean 186 kilometer from Morioka, Japan. Shaking may have been felt by a total of 2 million people.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 138 kilometers (86 mi) off the coast of Japan, 186 kilometer east of Morioka in Iwate. 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 17:54 (Tokyo Time) - Nov 9, 2025 08:54 Universal Time.
Location:	186 km east of Morioka, Iwate, Japan. Coordinates 39°29'50"N 143°18'35"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 6.4 Detected by 35 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.052 .
Depth:	10 km (6 mi) A very 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 2 million people exposed to shaking

This earthquake may have been felt by around 2 million people. That is the expected population size of the area exposed to a level of shaking of II or higher on the Modified Mercalli scale according to the USGS.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is IV, which corresponds with light shaking and likely no damage. Roughly 1,288,000 people are expected to be exposed to this level. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of Japan .

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in Japan . Located 117 kilometer (73 mi) east of the epicenter of this earthquake, Yamada (Iwate, Japan) is the nearest significant population center. The intensity of shaking and damage in Yamada is estimated to be around level IV on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (light shaking, likely no damage).

Multiple large cities are in proximity of today's earthquake. Sendai is located 252 km to the west-southwest (intensity unknown, possibly low). Morioka is located 186 km to the west and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage). Hachinohe is located 190 km to the northwest and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage).

A complete list of nearby places is included below. Estimated intensity data (MMI) sourced from a shake-map published by the US Geographic Survey is shown where available (cities without data probably experienced little impact).

Overview of nearby places

Earthquake Intensity Map

The graph below overlays a map of the region around the epicenter with earthquake intensity data provided by the US Geographic Survey. The highest intensity level detected for this earthquake is IV.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Shaking reported by 13 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 13 people have reported shaking in 5 places, all within 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:

• Tokyo, Tokio, Japan: 5 people.
• Sendai, Miyagi, Japan: 5 people.
• Akita, Akita, Japan: 1 person.
• Morioka, Iwate, Japan: 1 person.
• Misawa, Aomori, Japan: 1 person.

This is likely an aftershock

This earthquake was an aftershock. A larger mag. 6.8 earthquake struck 6 km (4 mi) east-southeast in advance of this 6.4 earthquake around 51 mins earlier.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

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.

Earthquakes like this are common in the region

Earthquakes of this strength occur quite regularly in the region. In total, 7 earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.4 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 year.

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 12:08 (). 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 us6000rmep
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20251109_0000159
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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