Unusually powerful M7.6 Earthquake struck on Monday Evening in the North Pacific Ocean near Hachinohe (Japan).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on December 8th, 2025. Last updated December 30th, 2025.

In the North Pacific Ocean 80 kilometer from Hachinohe, Japan, an unusually powerful M7.6 earthquake occurred in the evening of Monday December 8th, 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, 83 kilometers (51 mi) off the coast of Japan, 80 kilometer north-east of Hachinohe in Aomori. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 46 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Dec 8, 2025 23:15 (Tokyo Time) - Dec 8, 2025 14:15 Universal Time.
Location:	80 km NE of Hachinohe, Aomori, Japan. Coordinates 41°0'10"N 142°10'17"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 7.6 Detected by 7 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.024 .
Depth:	46 km (28 mi) A quite shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VII Very Strong 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

Significant economic impact

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

At least 37 people injured, 1 home destroyed, 4 homes and 15 buildings damaged in Aomori; 11 people injured, 1 home and 1 building damaged in Hokkaido; 4 people injured in Iwate. A tsunami with the following wave heights was recorded: 70 cm at Kuji; 50 cm at Urakawa; 40 cm at Hachinohe and Mutsu; 30 cm at Ishinomaki, Kamaishi, Shiraoi and Tomakomai; 20 cm at Sendai.

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 YELLOW (significant). They expect an 37% likelyhood of between 1 and 10 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 99% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls no higher than 1,000 million USD.

Roughly 13 million people exposed to shaking

This earthquake may have been felt by around 13 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 VII, which corresponds with very strong shaking and likely moderate damage. Roughly 221,900 people are expected to be exposed to this level. Intensity level IV was experienced by the majority of people (around 8 million). In their region, light shaking and likely no damage can be expected.

People in 2 countries have been exposed to shaking. In Japan , around 13 million people, with impact levels up to VII (very strong shaking, likely moderate damage). Shaking was experienced by inhabitants of Russia too.

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in Japan . Located 75 kilometer (47 mi) east-northeast of the epicenter of this earthquake, Misawa (Aomori, Japan) is the nearest significant population center. The intensity of shaking and damage in Misawa is estimated to be around level VII on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (very strong shaking, likely moderate damage).

Multiple large cities are in proximity of today's earthquake. Tokyo is located 629 km to the south-southwest (intensity unknown, possibly low). Sapporo is located 239 km to the north-northwest and experienced an intensity of V (moderate shaking, very light damage). Yokohama is located 657 km to the south-southwest (intensity unknown, possibly low).

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 maximum intensity (MMI Scale) caused by this earthquake is VII. The map below shows in which areas this earthquake was the most and least impactful. It is based on data from the US Geographic Survey.

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 242 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 242 people have reported shaking in 74 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: 68 people.
• Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan: 15 people.
• Misawa, Aomori, Japan: 12 people.
• Sendai, Miyagi, Japan: 9 people.
• Hachinohe, Aomori, Japan: 8 people.
• Iwanai, Hokkaido, Japan: 8 people.
• Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan: 8 people.
• Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan: 8 people.
• Komae, Tokio, Japan: 6 people.
• Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan: 5 people.

26 Aftershocks detected

Since this main shock, 26 smaller aftershocks were detected. Just 8 hrs after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-6.6 was detected 83 km (52 mi) east of this earthquake.

In the days before this main shock, 1 smaller foreshock was detected. Nearby this earthquake a foreshock struck 1 day earlier. It measured a magnitude of 3.3

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.

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.

This is an unusually powerful earthquake

No earthquake of this strength has struck this region for a long time. Our data goes back 10 years, and no earthquakes measuring a magnitude of 7.6 or higher have been detected within 300 km (186 mi) of this epicenter.

Sources

Last updated 30/12/25 01:48 (). 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 us6000rtdt
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20251208_0000252
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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