On Monday Afternoon an Unusually powerful M7.4 Earthquake struck in the North Pacific Ocean 100km from Miyako (Japan).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on April 20th, 2026.

An unusually powerful Magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck in the North Pacific Ocean 100 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.

Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 118 kilometers (73 mi) off the coast of Japan, 100 kilometer east of Miyako in Iwate. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 35 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Apr 20, 2026 16:53 (Tokyo Time) - Apr 20, 2026 07:53 Universal Time.
Location:	100 km east of Miyako, Iwate, Japan. Coordinates 39°57'12"N 143°2'46"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:	35 km (22 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

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.

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

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.	This earthquake had a magnitude of 7.4. Earthquakes of this strength could trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 35 km (22 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

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 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 10 million people exposed to shaking

This earthquake may have been felt by around 10 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 332,800 people are expected to be exposed to this level. Intensity level IV was experienced by the majority of people (around 5.2 million). In their region, light shaking and likely no damage can be expected. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of Japan .

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
0	I	Not noticable	None
0	II	Very weak	None
135,500	III	Weak	Probably none
5,205,000	IV	Light	Likely none
3,830,000	V	Moderate	Very light
332,800	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 . The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Miyako in Iwate, Japan. Miyako is located 100 kilometer (62 mi) 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 558 km to the southwest (intensity unknown, possibly low). Yokohama is located 585 km to the southwest (intensity unknown, possibly low). Sapporo is located 374 km to the northwest (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

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place	Intensity (MMI)
100 km (62 mi) W from epicenter	Miyako Iwate, Japan.	V Moderate
108 km (67 mi) SW from epicenter	Yamada Iwate, Japan.	VI Strong
126 km (78 mi) SW from epicenter	Kamaishi Iwate, Japan.	V Moderate
145 km (90 mi) NW from epicenter	Hachinohe Aomori, Japan.	VI Strong
148 km (92 mi) SW from epicenter	Tōno Iwate, Japan.	V Moderate
150 km (93 mi) SW from epicenter	Ōfunato Iwate, Japan.	VI Strong
162 km (101 mi) NW from epicenter	Misawa Aomori, Japan.	VI Strong
164 km (102 mi) W from epicenter	Morioka Iwate, Japan.	V Moderate
177 km (110 mi) W from epicenter	Hanamaki Iwate, Japan.	V Moderate
178 km (111 mi) W from epicenter	Shizukuishi Iwate, Japan.	V Moderate
181 km (112 mi) SW from epicenter	Kitakami Iwate, Japan.	V Moderate
185 km (115 mi) SW from epicenter	Kanegasaki Iwate, Japan.	V Moderate
188 km (117 mi) SW from epicenter	Mizusawa Iwate, Japan.	V Moderate
194 km (121 mi) W from epicenter	Hanawa Akita, Japan.	V Moderate
201 km (125 mi) SW from epicenter	Ichinoseki Iwate, Japan.	V Moderate
214 km (133 mi) NW from epicenter	Mutsu Aomori, Japan.	V Moderate
215 km (134 mi) W from epicenter	Ōdate Akita, Japan.	V Moderate
218 km (135 mi) NW from epicenter	Aomori Aomori, Japan.	V Moderate
223 km (139 mi) W from epicenter	Kuroishi Aomori, Japan.	V Moderate
225 km (140 mi) W from epicenter	Yokote Akita, Japan.	IV Light
226 km (140 mi) W from epicenter	Ōmagari Akita, Japan.	V Moderate
228 km (142 mi) SW from epicenter	Ishinomaki Miyagi, Japan.	V Moderate
230 km (143 mi) W from epicenter	Hirosaki Aomori, Japan.	V Moderate
232 km (144 mi) SW from epicenter	Yamoto Miyagi, Japan.	V Moderate
235 km (146 mi) W from epicenter	Yuzawa Akita, Japan.	IV Light
237 km (147 mi) SW from epicenter	Furukawa Miyagi, Japan.	V Moderate
240 km (149 mi) NW from epicenter	Goshogawara Aomori, Japan.	V Moderate
251 km (156 mi) SW from epicenter	Shiogama Miyagi, Japan.	V Moderate
252 km (157 mi) W from epicenter	Akita Akita, Japan.	V Moderate
254 km (158 mi) SW from epicenter	Tomiya Miyagi, Japan.	IV Light
258 km (160 mi) W from epicenter	Noshiro Akita, Japan.	V Moderate
266 km (165 mi) SW from epicenter	Sendai Miyagi, Japan.	IV Light
281 km (175 mi) NW from epicenter	Hakodate Hokkaido, Japan.	V Moderate
291 km (181 mi) SW from epicenter	Tendō Yamagata, Japan.	V Moderate
297 km (185 mi) SW from epicenter	Sakata Yamagata, Japan.	V Moderate
300 km (186 mi) SW from epicenter	Yamagata Yamagata, Japan.
322 km (200 mi) N from epicenter	Tomakomai Hokkaido, Japan.
330 km (205 mi) N from epicenter	Obihiro Hokkaido, Japan.
332 km (206 mi) SW from epicenter	Fukushima Fukushima, Japan.
354 km (220 mi) N from epicenter	Kushiro Hokkaido, Japan.
366 km (227 mi) SW from epicenter	Kōriyama Fukushima, Japan.
374 km (232 mi) SW from epicenter	Iwaki Fukushima, Japan.
374 km (232 mi) NW from epicenter	Sapporo Hokkaido, Japan.
418 km (260 mi) SW from epicenter	Niigata Niigata, Japan.
428 km (266 mi) N from epicenter	Asahikawa Hokkaido, Japan.
460 km (286 mi) SW from epicenter	Mito Ibaraki, Japan.
467 km (290 mi) SW from epicenter	Utsunomiya Tochigi, Japan.
525 km (326 mi) SW from epicenter	Maebashi Gunma, Japan.
539 km (335 mi) SW from epicenter	Saitama Saitama, Japan.
548 km (341 mi) SW from epicenter	Chiba Chiba, Japan.
558 km (347 mi) SW from epicenter	Tokyo Tokyo, Japan.
561 km (349 mi) SW from epicenter	Nagano Nagano, Japan.
573 km (356 mi) SW from epicenter	Kawasaki Kanagawa, Japan.
585 km (364 mi) SW from epicenter	Yokohama Kanagawa, Japan.
618 km (384 mi) SW from epicenter	Kōfu Yamanashi, Japan.
624 km (388 mi) SW from epicenter	Toyama Toyama, Japan.
674 km (419 mi) SW from epicenter	Kanazawa Ishikawa, Japan.
689 km (428 mi) SW from epicenter	Shizuoka Shizuoka, Japan.
737 km (458 mi) SW from epicenter	Fukui-shi Fukui, Japan.
743 km (462 mi) N from epicenter	Korsakov Sakhalin Oblast, Russia.
748 km (465 mi) SW from epicenter	Gifu-shi Gifu, Japan.
748 km (465 mi) SW from epicenter	Kasugai Aichi, 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 VI.

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.

Shaking reported by 70 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 70 people have reported shaking in 33 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: 25 people.
Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan: 4 people.
Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan: 4 people.
Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan: 3 people.
Urayasu, Chiba, Japan: 2 people.
Fujisawa, Kanagawa, Japan: 2 people.
Morioka, Iwate, Japan: 2 people.
Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan: 2 people.
Misawa, Aomori, Japan: 2 people.
Ichikawa, Chiba, Japan: 1 person.

4 Aftershocks detected

This main shock was followed by 4 smaller aftershocks. Just 40 mins after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-5.6 was detected 39 km (24 mi) south-east 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 7.4	Apr 20, 2026 16:53 (Tokyo Time)	-
Aftershock	M 5.2	16 mins later Apr 20, 2026 17:08 (Tokyo Time)	29 km (18 mi) E from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 5.6	40 mins later Apr 20, 2026 17:32 (Tokyo Time)	39 km (24 mi) SE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.4	1 hr later Apr 20, 2026 18:07 (Tokyo Time)	41 km (26 mi) SE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 5.1	2 hrs later Apr 20, 2026 18:49 (Tokyo Time)	27 km (17 mi) SE from Main Shock.

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

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

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 137 km (85 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 20/04/26 10:28 (). 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.