Significant M5.5 Earthquake struck on Thursday Morning in the North Pacific Ocean near Kushiro (Japan).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on January 14th, 2026. Last updated February 9th, 2026.

In the morning of Thursday January 15th, 2026, a significant Magnitude 5.5 earthquake hit in the North Pacific Ocean 96 kilometer from Kushiro, Japan. Around 0.8 million people have been exposed to shaking.

Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 49 kilometers (30 mi) off the coast of Japan, 96 kilometer east-southeast of Kushiro in Hokkaido. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 30 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Jan 15, 2026 07:13 (Tokyo Time) - Jan 14, 2026 22:13 Universal Time.
Location:	96 km ESE of Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan. Coordinates 42°43'43"N 145°30'24"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.5 Detected by 34 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.053 .
Depth:	30 km (19 mi) A quite shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	V Moderate 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 0.8 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 0.8 million have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is V, which corresponds with moderate shaking and very light damage. Roughly 350 people are expected to be exposed to this level. Intensity level III was experienced by the majority of people (around 540 thousand). In their region, weak shaking and probably no damage can be expected.

People in 2 countries have been exposed to shaking. Roughly 0.8 million people were exposed to shaking in Japan , with level V (moderate shaking, very light damage) as the highest recorded. People were exposed to shaking in Russia as well.

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
0	I	Not noticable	None
15,220	II	Very weak	None
539,100	III	Weak	Probably none
273,900	IV	Light	Likely none
350	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 Japan . Located 66 kilometer (41 mi) south of the epicenter of this earthquake, Nemuro (Hokkaido, Japan) is the nearest significant population center. The intensity of shaking and damage in Nemuro is estimated to be around level IV on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (light shaking, likely no damage).

Multiple major population centers exist within 300km of the earthquake that struck today. Kushiro is located 96 km to the west-northwest and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage). Asahikawa is located 280 km to the west-northwest (intensity unknown, possibly low). Obihiro is located 189 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

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place	Intensity (MMI)
66 km (41 mi) N from epicenter	Nemuro Hokkaido, Japan.	IV Light
96 km (60 mi) WNW from epicenter	Kushiro Hokkaido, Japan.	IV Light
101 km (63 mi) NNW from epicenter	Nakashibetsu Hokkaido, Japan.	IV Light
108 km (67 mi) NNW from epicenter	Shibetsu Hokkaido, Japan.	IV Light
167 km (104 mi) NW from epicenter	Motomachi Hokkaido, Japan.	III Weak
175 km (109 mi) NW from epicenter	Abashiri Hokkaido, Japan.	III Weak
177 km (110 mi) NW from epicenter	Kitami Hokkaido, Japan.	III Weak
189 km (117 mi) W from epicenter	Obihiro Hokkaido, Japan.	III Weak
190 km (118 mi) W from epicenter	Otofuke Hokkaido, Japan.	III Weak
250 km (155 mi) NW from epicenter	Mombetsu Hokkaido, Japan.	II Weak
261 km (162 mi) W from epicenter	Shizunai-furukawachō Hokkaido, Japan.
263 km (163 mi) WNW from epicenter	Shimo-furano Hokkaido, Japan.
280 km (174 mi) WNW from epicenter	Asahikawa Hokkaido, Japan.
283 km (176 mi) WNW from epicenter	Ashibetsu Hokkaido, Japan.
299 km (186 mi) WNW from epicenter	Minamishibetsuchō Hokkaido, Japan.

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

Earthquake Intensity Map based on Shakemap Data provided by USGS.

2 Aftershocks detected

Since this main shock, 2 smaller aftershocks were detected. Just 20 hrs after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-4.2 was detected 34 km (21 mi) north-northwest 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 This Earthquake	M 5.5	Jan 15, 2026 07:13 (Tokyo Time)	-
Aftershock	M 4.2	20 hrs later Jan 16, 2026 02:58 (Tokyo Time)	34 km (21 mi) NNW from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.5	20 hrs later Jan 16, 2026 03:16 (Tokyo Time)	19 km (12 mi) N from Main Shock.

More earthquakes coming?

Earthquakes can create aftershocks. These are generally at least 1 magnitude lower than any main shock, and as time passes the chance and strength of aftershocks decreases.

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 December 12th, 2025, when a 5.5 magnitude earthquake hit 286 km (178 mi) further southwest. An even stronger magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck on December 8th, 2025.

In total, 33 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.5 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

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 5.5. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 30 km (19 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 09/02/26 00:48 (). 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.