Significant M5.6 Earthquake struck on Tuesday Morning in the North Pacific Ocean 230km from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (Russia).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on December 15th, 2025. Last updated December 16th, 2025.

In the North Pacific Ocean 230 kilometer from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia, a significant Magnitude 5.6 earthquake occurred in the morning of Tuesday December 16th, 2025. Around 200 thousand people have been exposed to shaking.

Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 201 kilometers (125 mi) off the coast of Russia, 230 kilometer south-east of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in Kamchatka. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 34 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Dec 16, 2025 07:33 (Kamchatka Time) - Dec 15, 2025 19:33 Universal Time.
Location:	230 km SE of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Kamchatka, Russia. Coordinates 51°44'24"N 161°14'22"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.6 Detected by 38 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.05 .
Depth:	34 km (21 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 200 thousand people exposed to shaking

The USGS has published a report estimating the number of people exposed to this earthquake. Acoording to their analysis, roughly 200 thousand have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

Weak shaking and probably no damage may have been experienced by an estimated 194,000 people. At III, it is the highest MMI level this earthquake has caused. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of Russia .

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
0	I	Not noticable	None
7,370	II	Very weak	None
194,000	III	Weak	Probably none
0	IV	Light	Likely none
0	V	Moderate	Very light
0	VI	Strong	Light
0	VII	Very Strong	Moderate
0	VIII	Severe	Moderate to heavy
0	IX	Violent	Heavy
0	X	Extreme	Very heavy

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in Russia . Located 230 kilometer (143 mi) south-east of the epicenter of this earthquake, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (Kamchatka, Russia) is the nearest significant population center. The intensity of shaking and damage in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is estimated to be around level III on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (weak shaking, probably no damage).

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place	Intensity (MMI)
230 km (143 mi) NW from epicenter	Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Kamchatka, Russia.	III Weak
234 km (145 mi) NW from epicenter	Vilyuchinsk Kamchatka, Russia.
252 km (157 mi) NW from epicenter	Yelizovo Kamchatka, Russia.

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 III.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Earthquake Intensity Map based on Shakemap Data provided by USGS.

3 Aftershocks detected

This main shock was followed by 3 smaller aftershocks. Just 1 day after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-4.7 was detected 92 km (57 mi) southwest of this earthquake.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

Detected MAG2.5+ earthquakes within within 100km (62 mi), that occurred in the three days before and after the main shock.
Classification	Magnitude	When	Where
Main Shock	M 5.3	Dec 15, 2025 20:11 (Kamchatka Time)	-
Aftershock	M 4.3	18 hrs later Dec 16, 2025 14:11 (Kamchatka Time)	15 km (9 mi) NE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.3	20 hrs later Dec 16, 2025 16:25 (Kamchatka Time)	47 km (29 mi) ENE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.7	1 day later Dec 16, 2025 21:30 (Kamchatka Time)	92 km (57 mi) SW from Main Shock.

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.

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.

Read: How to Stay Safe during an Earthquake (cdc.gov).

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 4th, 2025, when a 6 magnitude earthquake hit 83 km (52 mi) further west-northwest. An even stronger magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck on July 29th, 2025.

In total, 68 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.6 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 months.

Low tsunami risk

DISCLAIMER: We strongly suggest to closely monitor advice from local authorities with regards to tsunami risks. Our analysis is based on automatically collected data from external sources, and these might contain mistakes. In addition, earthquakes can cause landslides that may lead to a tsunami, or be a followed by another, potentially stonger, earthquake.

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

Factor	Under Sea?	MAG-6.5 or stronger?	Shallow depth?
Explanation	Almost all tsunami's are caused by earthquakes with their epicenter under sea or very near the sea. However stay cautious in coastal areas as earthquakes on land may cause landslides into sea, potentially still causing a local tsunami.	Under MAG 6.5: Very unlikely to cause a tsunami. MAG 6.5 to 7.5: Destructive tsunami's do occur, but are uncommon. Likely to observe small sea level changes. MAG 7.6+: Earthquakes with these magnitudes might produce destructive tsunami's.	Most destructive tsunami's are caused by shallow earthquakes with a depth between 0 and 100km under the surface of the earth. Deeper tsunami's are unlikely to displace to ocean floor.
This Earthquake	This earthquake appears to have struck under the sea.	Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 5.6. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 34 km (21 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 16/12/25 16:48 (). 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.