Strong M6.9 Earthquake struck on Thursday Morning in the North Pacific Ocean near Hachinohe (Japan).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on June 24th, 2026. Last updated August 23rd, 2026.

In the North Pacific Ocean 59 kilometer from Hachinohe, Japan, a strong MAG-6.9 earthquake occurred in the morning of Thursday June 25th, 2026. Mag 6.5+ earthquakes at shallow depth under sea have the potential to cause tsunami's.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 33 kilometers (20 mi) off the coast of Japan, 59 kilometer south-east of Hachinohe in Aomori. 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:	Jun 25, 2026 07:30 (Tokyo Time) - Jun 24, 2026 22:30 Universal Time.
Location:	59 km SE of Hachinohe, Aomori, Japan. Coordinates 40°16'28"N 142°8'7"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 6.9 Detected by 41 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.053 .
Depth:	34 km (21 mi) A quite shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VII Very Strong On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Potential Tsunami Risk Mag 6.5+ earthquakes at shallow depth under sea have the potential to cause tsunami's. 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. This earthquake checks all the likely tsunami risk factors: under sea, at a magnitude of MAG-6.5+ and at a shallow depth.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Significant economic impact

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

Ten people injured, 5 homes and 114 buildings damaged and power outages occurred in Aomori. Two people injured and 2 buildings damaged in Iwate.

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 YELLOW (significant). They expect an 48% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 98% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls no higher than 100 million USD.

Roughly 4.7 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 4.7 million have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is VII, which corresponds with very strong shaking and likely moderate damage. Roughly 35,490 people are expected to be exposed to this level. Intensity level IV was experienced by the majority of people (around 2.5 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 Hachinohe in Aomori, Japan. Hachinohe is located 59 kilometer (37 mi) south-east of the epicenter. The intensity of shaking and damage in Hachinohe is estimated to be around level VII on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (very strong shaking, likely moderate damage).

Multiple large cities are in proximity of today's earthquake. Sapporo is located 317 km to the north (intensity unknown, possibly low). Sendai is located 249 km to the southwest (intensity unknown, possibly low). Hachinohe is located 59 km to the northwest and experienced an intensity of VII (very strong shaking, likely moderate 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

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 VII.

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 93 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 93 people have reported shaking in 40 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: 19 people.
• Sendai, Miyagi, Japan: 9 people.
• Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan: 9 people.
• Hachinohe, Aomori, Japan: 7 people.
• Misawa, Aomori, Japan: 4 people.
• Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan: 4 people.
• Urayasu, Chiba, Japan: 3 people.
• Ichikawa, Chiba, Japan: 2 people.
• Hitachi, Ibaraki, Japan: 2 people.
• Chiba, Chiba, Japan: 2 people.

15 Aftershocks detected

This main shock was followed by 15 smaller aftershocks. At a distance of 25 km (15 mi) east of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 3 days later. It measured a magnitude of 5.8

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

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

Earthquakes like this are common in the region

Earthquakes of this strength occur quite regularly in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since April 20th, 2026, when a 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit 85 km (53 mi) further south-east. An even stronger magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck on December 8th, 2025.

In total, 6 earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.9 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 years.

Sources

Last updated 23/08/26 08:08 (). 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 us6000t7zq
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20260624_0000366
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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