Significant M5.5 Earthquake hit near Noda in Japan on Tuesday Evening.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on June 16th, 2026. Last updated June 19th, 2026.

Under land 5 kilometer from Noda in Japan, a significant MAG-5.5 earthquake occurred in the evening of Tuesday June 16th, 2026. The earthquake struck near a very densely populated region. Shaking may have been felt by a total of 51 million people.

Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in Japan, 5 kilometer (3 mi) northwest of Noda in Chiba. The center of this earthquake had an intermediate depth of 72 km.

Date and Time:	Jun 16, 2026 19:46 (Tokyo Time) - Jun 16, 2026 10:46 Universal Time.
Location:	5 km NW of Noda, Chiba, Japan. Coordinates 35°58'53"N 139°50'14"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.5 Detected by 239 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.038 .
Depth:	72 km (45 mi) An intermediate depth.
Max. Intensity:	V Moderate On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Tsunami very unlikely While this was a shallow earthquake, it appears to have occurred under land with a magnitude not strong enough to 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 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 51 million people exposed to shaking

An estimated 51 million have been exposed to shaking (An MMI or Modified Mercalli Intensity level II or higher) as a result of this earthquake according scientific estimates published by the USGS.

An estimated 42,430,000 people were exposed to level IV. At this level, 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
68,300	II	Very weak	None
8,901,000	III	Weak	Probably none
42,430,000	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 Japan . Located 5 kilometer (3 mi) northwest of the epicenter of this earthquake, Noda (Chiba, Japan) is the nearest significant population center. Noda experienced an earthquake intensity (MMI Scale) of roughly IV. That level implies light shaking and likely no damage.

Multiple major population centers exist within 300km of the earthquake that struck today. Tokyo is located 35 km to the south and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage). Saitama is located 18 km to the southwest and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage). Yokohama is located 63 km to the south and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely 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)
5 km (3 mi) SE from epicenter	Noda Chiba, Japan.	IV Light
7 km (4 mi) S from epicenter	Matsubushi Saitama, Japan.	IV Light
8 km (5 mi) W from epicenter	Kasukabe Saitama, Japan.	IV Light
9 km (6 mi) NE from epicenter	Iwai Ibaraki, Japan.	IV Light
10 km (6 mi) S from epicenter	Yoshikawa Saitama, Japan.	IV Light
11 km (7 mi) SW from epicenter	Koshigaya Saitama, Japan.	IV Light
11 km (7 mi) NW from epicenter	Sugito Saitama, Japan.	IV Light
13 km (8 mi) W from epicenter	Iwatsuki Saitama, Japan.	IV Light
14 km (9 mi) N from epicenter	Sakai Ibaraki, Japan.	IV Light
14 km (9 mi) E from epicenter	Mitsukaidō Ibaraki, Japan.	IV Light
14 km (9 mi) NW from epicenter	Satte Saitama, Japan.	IV Light
15 km (9 mi) SE from epicenter	Nagareyama Chiba, Japan.	IV Light
16 km (10 mi) E from epicenter	Moriya Ibaraki, Japan.	IV Light
16 km (10 mi) W from epicenter	Shiraoka Saitama, Japan.	IV Light
16 km (10 mi) S from epicenter	Sōka Saitama, Japan.	IV Light
17 km (11 mi) NW from epicenter	Kukichūō Saitama, Japan.	IV Light
17 km (11 mi) W from epicenter	Hasuda Saitama, Japan.	IV Light
18 km (11 mi) SE from epicenter	Kashiwa Chiba, Japan.	IV Light
18 km (11 mi) S from epicenter	Yashio Saitama, Japan.	IV Light
18 km (11 mi) SW from epicenter	Saitama Saitama, Japan.	IV Light
19 km (12 mi) SW from epicenter	Hatogaya-honchō Saitama, Japan.	IV Light
20 km (12 mi) W from epicenter	Ageoshimo Saitama, Japan.	IV Light
21 km (13 mi) SW from epicenter	Yono Saitama, Japan.	IV Light
21 km (13 mi) SE from epicenter	Abiko Chiba, Japan.	IV Light
23 km (14 mi) S from epicenter	Matsudo Chiba, Japan.	IV Light
23 km (14 mi) SW from epicenter	Shimotoda Saitama, Japan.	IV Light
23 km (14 mi) SW from epicenter	Kawaguchi Saitama, Japan.	IV Light
24 km (15 mi) E from epicenter	Toride Ibaraki, Japan.	IV Light
25 km (16 mi) W from epicenter	Okegawa Saitama, Japan.	IV Light
26 km (16 mi) NW from epicenter	Kazo Saitama, Japan.	IV Light
27 km (17 mi) E from epicenter	Ushiku Ibaraki, Japan.	IV Light
28 km (17 mi) SW from epicenter	Shiki Saitama, Japan.	IV Light
29 km (18 mi) SW from epicenter	Asaka Saitama, Japan.	IV Light
30 km (19 mi) W from epicenter	Kōnosu Saitama, Japan.	IV Light
33 km (21 mi) W from epicenter	Kawagoe Saitama, Japan.	IV Light
34 km (21 mi) SE from epicenter	Honchō Chiba, Japan.	IV Light
34 km (21 mi) NE from epicenter	Tsukuba Ibaraki, Japan.	IV Light
35 km (22 mi) S from epicenter	Tokyo Tokyo, Japan.	IV Light
35 km (22 mi) S from epicenter	Urayasu Tokyo, Japan.	IV Light
36 km (22 mi) N from epicenter	Oyama Tochigi, Japan.	IV Light
39 km (24 mi) SW from epicenter	Nishi-Tokyo-shi Tokyo, Japan.	IV Light
39 km (24 mi) SW from epicenter	Tokorozawa Saitama, Japan.	IV Light
41 km (25 mi) W from epicenter	Sayama Saitama, Japan.	IV Light
41 km (25 mi) SW from epicenter	Kamirenjaku Tokyo, Japan.	IV Light
44 km (27 mi) SW from epicenter	Chōfu Tokyo, Japan.	IV Light
49 km (30 mi) SE from epicenter	Chiba Chiba, Japan.	IV Light
52 km (32 mi) S from epicenter	Kawasaki Kanagawa, Japan.	IV Light
55 km (34 mi) NW from epicenter	Ōta Gunma, Japan.	IV Light
59 km (37 mi) SW from epicenter	Hachiōji Tokyo, Japan.	IV Light
60 km (37 mi) SW from epicenter	Machida Tokyo, Japan.	IV Light
63 km (39 mi) S from epicenter	Yokohama Kanagawa, Japan.	IV Light
65 km (40 mi) N from epicenter	Utsunomiya Tochigi, Japan.	IV Light
77 km (48 mi) SW from epicenter	Uenohara Yamanashi, Japan.	IV Light
151 km (94 mi) NE from epicenter	Iwaki Fukushima, Japan.	III Weak
166 km (103 mi) NW from epicenter	Nagano Nagano, Japan.	III Weak
172 km (107 mi) SW from epicenter	Shizuoka Shizuoka, Japan.	III Weak
224 km (139 mi) N from epicenter	Niigata Niigata, Japan.
248 km (154 mi) W from epicenter	Toyama Toyama, Japan.
255 km (158 mi) N from epicenter	Yamagata Yamagata, Japan.
270 km (168 mi) N from epicenter	Sendai Miyagi, Japan.
280 km (174 mi) W from epicenter	Nagoya Aichi, Japan.
285 km (177 mi) W from epicenter	Gifu-shi Gifu, Japan.
297 km (185 mi) W from epicenter	Kanazawa Ishikawa, Japan.

Earthquake Intensity Map

The intensity in shaking and damage by this earthquake is illustrated through the map below. The highest intensity measured for this earthquake is IV.

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 106 people in 2 countries

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 106 people have reported shaking in 46 places in 2 countries (Japan, Korea (South)).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: 41 people.
Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan: 7 people.
Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan: 4 people.
Yamato, Kanagawa, Japan: 3 people.
Urayasu, Chiba, Japan: 2 people.
Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan: 2 people.
Koshigaya, Saitama, Japan: 2 people.
Zushi, Kanagawa, Japan: 2 people.
Naka, Ibaraki, Japan: 2 people.
Sendai, Miyagi, Japan: 2 people.

3 Aftershocks detected

This main shock was followed by 3 smaller aftershocks. Just 9 mins after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-3.9 was detected 14 km (9 mi) north-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 5.5	Jun 16, 2026 19:46 (Tokyo Time)	-
Aftershock	M 3.9	9 mins later Jun 16, 2026 19:55 (Tokyo Time)	14 km (9 mi) NE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.0	2 hrs later Jun 16, 2026 21:50 (Tokyo Time)	14 km (9 mi) NE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.2	9 hrs later Jun 17, 2026 05:06 (Tokyo Time)	38 km (24 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.

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).

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 October 4th, 2025, when a 5.9 magnitude earthquake hit 221 km (138 mi) further north-east. An even stronger magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck on January 1st, 2024.

In total, 48 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 3 months.

Tsunami very unlikely

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.

While MAG-6.5+ earthquakes may cause tsunami's, it appears that the epicenter of this earthquake hit under land. In addition, the reported depth is deeper than 100km, making the risk of a tsunami even less likely. However always 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	Not this earthquake. This earthquake appears to have struck on land far from any coast.	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 72 km (45 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 19/06/26 09:48 (). This article contains currently available information about the earthquake and is automatically composed. We continue to update this article up to a few days after the earthquake occurred.