On Monday Afternoon an Unusually powerful M7.4 Earthquake struck in the North Pacific Ocean near Miyako (Japan).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on April 20th, 2026. Last updated May 31st, 2026.

An unusually powerful Magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck in the North Pacific Ocean 98 kilometer from Miyako, Japan in the late afternoon of Monday April 20th, 2026. The USGS has indicated there is a potential risk at tsunami's following this earthquake.

Felt the earthquake? Share this article:

Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 114 kilometers (71 mi) off the coast of Japan, 98 kilometer north-east of Miyako in Iwate. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 25 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Apr 20, 2026 16:52 (Tokyo Time) - Apr 20, 2026 07:52 Universal Time.
Location:	98 km NE of Miyako, Iwate, Japan. Coordinates 39°59'37"N 142°59'41"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 7.4 Detected by 7 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.036 .
Depth:	25 km (16 mi) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VI 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

Minimal impact predicted

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

Four people injured and at least 39 buildings damaged in Aomori, 2 injured in Hokkaido and 4 injured and power outages occurred in Iwate. One road damaged in Miyagi. Tsunamis recorded with wave heights of 80 cm at Kuji; 40 cm at Miyako and Urakawa and 30 cm at Erimo, Hiroo and 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 90% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level GREEN (low). They expect an 90% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact.

Roughly 6.9 million people exposed to shaking

This earthquake may have been felt by around 6.9 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 VI, which corresponds with strong shaking and probably light damage. Roughly 62,210 people are expected to be exposed to this level. Intensity level IV was experienced by the majority of people (around 3.5 million). In their region, light shaking and likely 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 Miyako in Iwate, Japan. Miyako is located 98 kilometer (61 mi) north-east of the epicenter. The intensity of shaking and damage in Miyako is estimated to be around level V on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (moderate shaking, very light damage).

Multiple large cities are in proximity of today's earthquake. Tokyo is located 560 km to the southwest (intensity unknown, possibly low). Yokohama is located 586 km to the southwest (intensity unknown, possibly low). Sapporo is located 368 km to the north (intensity unknown, possibly low).

A complete list of nearby places is included below. Estimated intensity data (MMI) sourced from a shake-map published by the US Geographic Survey is shown where available (cities without data probably experienced little impact).

Overview of nearby places

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 VI.

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 133 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 133 people have reported shaking in 52 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: 46 people.
• Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan: 7 people.
• Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan: 5 people.
• Morioka, Iwate, Japan: 5 people.
• Sendai, Miyagi, Japan: 5 people.
• Hirosaki, Aomori, Japan: 4 people.
• Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan: 4 people.
• Komae, Tokio, Japan: 3 people.
• Urayasu, Chiba, Japan: 3 people.
• Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan: 3 people.

57 Aftershocks detected

This main shock was followed by 57 smaller aftershocks. Just 4 mins after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-6 was detected 27 km (17 mi) south of this earthquake.

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.

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

This is an unusually powerful earthquake

Earthquakes of this strength are not so common in the region, but it's not the first time. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since December 8th, 2025, when a 7.6 magnitude earthquake hit 131 km (81 mi) further northwest. That was also the heaviest earthquake to hit the region in the past 10 years.

In total, 1 earthquake with a magnitude of 7.4 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 10 years.

Sources

Last updated 31/05/26 03:08 (). 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 us6000sri7
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20260420_0000119
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

Share this article: