On Sunday Afternoon a Shallow M6.8 Earthquake struck in the North Pacific Ocean 192km from Morioka (Japan).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on November 9th, 2025. Last updated December 14th, 2025.

In the North Pacific Ocean 192 kilometer from Morioka, Japan, a shallow and strong Magnitude 6.8 earthquake occurred in the late afternoon of Sunday November 9th, 2025. The USGS has indicated there is a potential risk at tsunami's following this earthquake.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 146 kilometers (91 mi) off the coast of Japan, 192 kilometer east of Morioka in Iwate. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 18 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Nov 9, 2025 17:03 (Tokyo Time) - Nov 9, 2025 08:03 Universal Time.
Location:	192 km east of Morioka, Iwate, Japan. Coordinates 39°29'6"N 143°22'42"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 6.8 Detected by 17 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.059 .
Depth:	18 km (11 mi) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	V Moderate On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Potential tsunami risk The USGS has indicated there is a potential risk at tsunami's following this earthquake. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Potential tsunami risk

There is a potential tsunami risk in the aftermath of this earthquake, immediately evacuate to higher grounds away from coastal areas and monitor advice from local authorities. The US Geographic Survey organization has indicated a potential risk for tsunami's following this earthquake.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Minimal impact predicted

The US Geographic Survey (USGS) describes the impact of this earthquake as follows:

A tsunami with heights of 20 cm was observed at Kuji and at Ofunato; 10 cm at Miyako.

Based on scientific estimates by the 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 1.7 million people exposed to shaking

This earthquake may have been felt by around 1.7 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.

An estimated 650 people were exposed to level V. At this level, moderate shaking and very light damage can be expected. Intensity level IV was experienced by the majority of people (around 1.7 million). In their region, light shaking and likely no damage can be expected. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of Japan .

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 123 kilometer (76 mi) east of Yamada. The intensity of shaking and damage in Yamada is estimated to be around level V on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (moderate shaking, very light damage).

Multiple major population centers exist within 300km of the earthquake that struck today. Sapporo is located 433 km to the north-northwest (intensity unknown, possibly low). Sendai is located 256 km to the west-southwest (intensity unknown, possibly low). Niigata is located 419 km to the west-southwest (intensity unknown, possibly low).

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 V.

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 25 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 25 people have reported shaking in 15 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:

• Sendai, Miyagi, Japan: 6 people.
• Tokyo, Tokio, Japan: 4 people.
• Morioka, Iwate, Japan: 3 people.
• Misawa, Aomori, Japan: 1 person.
• Yamada, Iwate, Japan: 1 person.
• Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan: 1 person.
• Numata, Gumma, Japan: 1 person.
• Urayasu, Chiba, Japan: 1 person.
• Furukawa, Miyagi, Japan: 1 person.
• Kōriyama, Fukushima, Japan: 1 person.

66 Aftershocks detected

This main shock was followed by 66 smaller aftershocks. At a distance of 6 km (4 mi) west-northwest of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 51 mins later. It measured a magnitude of 6.4

In the days before this main shock, 25 smaller foreshocks were detected. Nearby this earthquake a foreshock struck 10 hrs earlier. It measured a magnitude of 5.5

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.

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

This is the strongest earthquake in 4 years

Earthquakes of this strength occur quite regularly in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since March 16th, 2022, when a 7.3 magnitude earthquake hit 251 km (156 mi) further southwest. That was also the heaviest earthquake to hit the region in the past 10 years.

In total, 5 earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.8 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 2 years.

Sources

Last updated 14/12/25 12:38 (). 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 us6000rmea
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20251109_0000142
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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