On Wednesday Evening a Significant M5.7 AFTERSHOCK struck in the North Pacific Ocean 109km from Hachinohe (Japan).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on December 10th, 2025. Last updated December 13th, 2025.

In the North Pacific Ocean 109 kilometer from Hachinohe, Japan, a significant MAG-5.7 aftershock occurred just before midnight of Wednesday December 10th, 2025. Shaking may have been felt by a total of 3.2 million people.

Felt the earthquake? Share this article:

Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 118 kilometers (74 mi) off the coast of Japan, 109 kilometer east-northeast of Hachinohe in Aomori. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 36 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Dec 10, 2025 23:52 (Tokyo Time) - Dec 10, 2025 14:52 Universal Time.
Location:	109 km ENE of Hachinohe, Aomori, Japan. Coordinates 40°50'50"N 142°42'42"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.7 Detected by 26 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.061 .
Depth:	36 km (22 mi) A quite 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 3.2 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 3.2 million have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is IV, which corresponds with light shaking and likely no damage. Roughly 148,300 people are expected to be exposed to this level. Intensity level III was experienced by the majority of people (around 2.9 million). In their region, 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 . The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Hachinohe in Aomori, Japan. Hachinohe is located 109 kilometer (68 mi) east-northeast of the epicenter. The intensity of shaking and damage in Hachinohe is estimated to be around level IV on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (light shaking, likely no damage).

Major cities near this earthquake: Sapporo is located 271 km to the north-northwest (intensity unknown, possibly low). Hachinohe is located 109 km to the west-southwest and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage). Aomori is located 166 km to the west 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 maximum intensity (MMI Scale) caused by this earthquake is IV. 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

This is likely an aftershock

Approximately 2 days before this earthquake hit, a larger 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck 49 km (30 mi) west-northwest of this one. For that reason, we classify the Mag. 5.7 earthquake as an aftershock.

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

Earthquakes like this happen often in the region

Earthquakes of this strength are very common in the region. In total, 30 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.7 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 4 months.

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 13/12/25 14:08 (). 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 us6000rtw5
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20251210_0000257
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

Share this article: