DESTRUCTIVE M6.8 Earthquake struck on Tuesday Afternoon near Matsubase in Japan.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on July 28th, 2026. Last updated September 9th, 2026.

Under land 3 kilometer from Matsubase in Japan, a DESTRUCTIVE and strong Magnitude 6.8 earthquake occurred in the late afternoon of Tuesday July 28th, 2026. The earthquake struck near a very densely populated region. Mag 6.5+ earthquakes at such shallow depth can cause tsunami's, but this earthquake hit under land. As it's epicenter is close to a coastal area, we still advice cautiousness.

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Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in Japan, 3 kilometer (2 mi) south-east of Matsubase in Kumamoto. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 10 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Jul 28, 2026 16:27 (Tokyo Time) - Jul 28, 2026 07:27 Universal Time.
Location:	3 km SE of Matsubase, Kumamoto, Japan. Coordinates 32°37'47"N 130°41'3"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 6.8 Detected by 59 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.046 .
Depth:	10 km (6 mi) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	X Extreme On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Small Tsunami Risk Mag 6.5+ earthquakes at such shallow depth can cause tsunami's, but this earthquake hit under land. As it's epicenter is close to a coastal area, we still advice cautiousness. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Small Tsunami Risk

There is a small tsunami risk following this earthquake, as it appears the epicenter was under land, 2 km from the coast. However this was a very strong earthquake at a shallow depth that would have a very high risk at causing tsunami's if it would have occurred under sea. Stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Significant impact predicted

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

Five persons killed at Hikawa, 7 at Kashima, 1 at Kosa, 3 at Uki and 20 at Yatsushiro. Two persons injured in Fukuoka, 1 in Kagoshima, 166 in Kumamoto and 1 in Oita. At least 1744 homes destroyed and 13544 damaged, at least 4600 buildings damaged in the Fukuoka-Kagoshima-Kumamoto-Saga-Oita, area. Power and water outages occurred in the Kumamoto-Nagasaki area. Surface ruptures, ground deformation and liquefaction reported in Kumamoto. Landslides reported in the Shimabara area, Nagasaki.

Based on scientific estimates by the USGS, the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level ORANGE (orange). They expect an 44% likelyhood of between 100 and 1,000 fatalities, and a 92% chance that the number of fatalities falls between 10 and 10,000.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level RED (high). They expect an 36% likelyhood of between 10,000 and 100,000 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 98% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls between 100 and 10,000,000 million USD.

Roughly 17 million people exposed to shaking

An estimated 17 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.

Violent shaking and likely heavy damage may have been experienced by an estimated 233,400 people. At IX, it is the highest MMI level this earthquake has caused. Intensity level IV was experienced by the majority of people (around 10 million). In their region, light shaking and likely no damage can be expected.

People in 2 countries have been exposed to shaking. In Japan , around 17 million people, with impact levels up to IX (violent shaking, likely heavy damage). Shaking was experienced by inhabitants of South Korea too.

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in Japan . Located 3 kilometer (2 mi) south-east of the epicenter of this earthquake, Matsubase (Kumamoto, Japan) is the nearest significant population center. Matsubase experienced an earthquake intensity (MMI Scale) of roughly VIII. That level implies severe shaking and likely moderate to heavy damage.

Major cities near this earthquake: Kumamoto is located 20 km to the north and experienced an intensity of VIII (severe shaking, likely moderate to heavy damage). Fukuoka is located 111 km to the north and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage). Busan is located 314 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

Earthquake Intensity Map

The maximum intensity (MMI Scale) caused by this earthquake is IX. The map below shows in which areas this earthquake was the most and least impactful. It is based on data from the US Geographic Survey.

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 in 2 countries

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 93 people have reported shaking in 49 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:

• Kumamoto, Kumamoto, Japan: 14 people.
• Matsubase, Kumamoto, Japan: 9 people.
• Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Japan: 5 people.
• Yatsushiro, Kumamoto, Japan: 4 people.
• Uto, Kumamoto, Japan: 3 people.
• Kunitomi, Miyazaki, Japan: 3 people.
• Mashiki, Kumamoto, Japan: 3 people.
• Iwakuni, Yamaguchi, Japan: 3 people.
• Jonan, Kumamoto, Japan: 3 people.
• Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan: 2 people.

113 Aftershocks detected

This main shock was followed by 113 smaller aftershocks. A 5.6 magnitude earthquake hit 41 mins later 31 km (19 mi) southwest of this earthquake.

This main shock was prefaced by 2 smaller foreshocks. A 4.2 magnitude earthquake hit 2 days earlier nearby.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

The risk of aftershocks decreases rapidly over time. Usually, aftershocks are at least one order of magnitude lower than a main shock.

It's always adviced to be cautious of the risk of a larger shock following any significant earthquake, however this risk is fairly small. There is a roughly 94 percent change that no larger main shock will follow in the days following this earthquake.

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 January 13th, 2025, when a 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit 121 km (75 mi) further south-east. An even stronger magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck on August 8th, 2024.

In total, 2 earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.8 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 5 years.

Sources

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

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us6000tgb9
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20260728_0000122
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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