Shallow M5.2 Earthquake struck on Tuesday Night in the North Pacific Ocean 177km from Morioka (Japan).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on November 17th, 2025. Last updated December 14th, 2025.

In the night of Tuesday November 18th, 2025, a shallow and significant MAG-5.2 earthquake hit in the North Pacific Ocean 177 kilometer from Morioka, Japan. Roughly 2.6 million people may have felt this earthquake.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 130 kilometers (81 mi) off the coast of Japan, 177 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 18, 2025 04:06 (Tokyo Time) - Nov 17, 2025 19:06 Universal Time.
Location:	177 km east of Morioka, Iwate, Japan. Coordinates 39°45'50"N 143°13'0"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.2 Detected by 25 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.062 .
Depth:	18 km (11 mi) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	IV Light 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 2.6 million people exposed to shaking

The USGS has published a report estimating the number of people exposed to this earthquake. Acoording to their analysis, roughly 2.6 million have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

An estimated 1,638,000 people were exposed to level III. At this level, weak shaking and probably 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 . Miyako in Iwate, Japan is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 110 kilometer (68 mi) east of Miyako. The intensity of shaking and damage in Miyako is estimated to be around level III on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (weak shaking, probably no damage).

Multiple major population centers exist within 300km of the earthquake that struck today. Sendai is located 263 km to the southwest (intensity unknown, possibly low). Morioka is located 177 km to the west and experienced an intensity of III (weak shaking, probably no damage). Hachinohe is located 167 km to the west-northwest and experienced an intensity of III (weak shaking, probably no damage).

An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below. If places don't have intensity data available, it likely means the experienced impact in those places was fairly small.

Overview of nearby places

Earthquake Intensity Map

The intensity in shaking and damage by this earthquake is illustrated through the map below. The highest intensity measured for this earthquake is III.

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 1 person

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 1 person has reported shaking in one place in 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:

• Kitakami, Iwate, Japan: 1 person.

5 Aftershocks detected

Since this main shock, 5 smaller aftershocks were detected. At a distance of 64 km (40 mi) south-southeast of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 1 day later. It measured a magnitude of 5

In the days before this main shock, 4 smaller foreshocks were detected. A 4.7 magnitude earthquake hit 2 days earlier nearby.

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.

In only six percent of cases, significant earthquakes are followed by a larger main shock, making the current earthquake a foreshock. While the chance of this happening is not so large, it is adviced to maintain cautiousness in the hours and days following a major earthquake.

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 12th, 2025, when a 5.3 magnitude earthquake hit 4 km (2.5 mi) further north. An even stronger magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck on March 16th, 2022.

In total, 99 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 14/12/25 22:18 (). This article is automatically generated based on available data. We keep checking multiple sources for additional information. This article gets updated as new details on this earthquake become available.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us6000rntu
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20251117_0000364
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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