Strong mag. 6.3 earthquake - NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN, on Sunday, 20 December 2020 at 17:23 (GMT) - information
Strong mag. 6.3 earthquake - North Pacific Ocean, 98 km northeast of Hachinohe, Aomori, Japan, on Monday, 21 Dec 2020 3:23 am (GMT +10)
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Strong magnitude 6.3 earthquake at 35 km depth
20 Dec 17:32 UTC: First to report: EMSC after 9 minutes.
20 Dec 17:34: Hypocenter depth recalculated from 64.0 to 40.0 km (from 40 to 25 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 9.5 km (5.9 mi) towards SW.
20 Dec 22:56: Magnitude recalculated from 6.2 to 6.3. Hypocenter depth recalculated from 40.0 to 35.0 km (from 25 to 22 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 10.3 km (6.4 mi) towards NW.
20 Dec 17:34: Hypocenter depth recalculated from 64.0 to 40.0 km (from 40 to 25 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 9.5 km (5.9 mi) towards SW.
20 Dec 22:56: Magnitude recalculated from 6.2 to 6.3. Hypocenter depth recalculated from 40.0 to 35.0 km (from 25 to 22 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 10.3 km (6.4 mi) towards NW.
Update Sun, 20 Dec 2020, 17:36
Significant 6.2 quake hits near Hachinohe, Japan
6.2 quake 21 Dec 3:23 am (GMT +10)
An earthquake of magnitude 6.2 occurred only 13 minutes ago 106 km northeast of Hachinohe, Japan, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) reported.
The quake hit at a moderately shallow depth of 40 km beneath the epicenter near Hachinohe, Hachinohe Shi, Aomori, Japan, early morning on Monday 21 December 2020 at 3:23 am local time. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
Our monitoring service identified a second report from Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) which listed the quake at magnitude 6.5. Other agencies reporting the same quake include NIED at magnitude 6.6, and German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) at magnitude 6.3.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake was probably felt by many people in the area of the epicenter. It should not have caused significant damage, other than objects falling from shelves, broken windows, etc.
In Hachinohe (pop. 239,000) located 106 km from the epicenter, Misawa (pop. 42,800) 112 km away, Ichinohe (pop. 15,800) 133 km away, Miyako (pop. 51,700) 136 km away, and Mutsu (pop. 49,200) 142 km away, the quake should have been felt as light shaking.
VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you’re in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.
The quake hit at a moderately shallow depth of 40 km beneath the epicenter near Hachinohe, Hachinohe Shi, Aomori, Japan, early morning on Monday 21 December 2020 at 3:23 am local time. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
Our monitoring service identified a second report from Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) which listed the quake at magnitude 6.5. Other agencies reporting the same quake include NIED at magnitude 6.6, and German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) at magnitude 6.3.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake was probably felt by many people in the area of the epicenter. It should not have caused significant damage, other than objects falling from shelves, broken windows, etc.
In Hachinohe (pop. 239,000) located 106 km from the epicenter, Misawa (pop. 42,800) 112 km away, Ichinohe (pop. 15,800) 133 km away, Miyako (pop. 51,700) 136 km away, and Mutsu (pop. 49,200) 142 km away, the quake should have been felt as light shaking.
VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you’re in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.
Earthquake data:
Local time at epicenter: Monday, 21 Dec 2020 3:23 am (GMT +10)
Magnitude: 6.3
Depth: 35.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 40.87°N / 142.56°E
(North Pacific Ocean, Japan)Nearest volcano: Osore-yama (141 km / 88 mi)
Nearby towns and cities:
98 km (61 mi) ENE of Hachinohe (pop: 239,000) --> See nearby quakes!
101 km (63 mi) ENE of Misawa (pop: 42,800) --> See nearby quakes!
122 km (76 mi) ESE of Mutsu (pop: 49,200) --> See nearby quakes!
129 km (80 mi) NE of Ichinohe (pop: 15,800) --> See nearby quakes!
146 km (91 mi) NNE of Miyako (pop: 51,700) --> See nearby quakes!
154 km (96 mi) E of Aomori (pop: 298,400) --> See nearby quakes!
177 km (110 mi) NE of Morioka (pop: 295,200) --> See nearby quakes!
179 km (111 mi) E of Hirosaki (pop: 175,000) --> See nearby quakes!
264 km (164 mi) SSE of Sapporo (pop: 1,883,000) --> See nearby quakes!
628 km (390 mi) NNE of Tokyo (pop: 8,336,600) --> See nearby quakes!
350 km (217 mi) S of Hokkaido Island (pop: 5,500,000) --> See nearby quakes!
181 km (112 mi) NNE of Sangan-jima Island --> See nearby quakes!
Weather at epicenter at time of quake:
Light Snow
0.1°C (32 F), humidity: 90%, wind: 13 m/s (25 kts) from WNW
Primary data source: EMSC (European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre)
Light Snow
0.1°C (32 F), humidity: 90%, wind: 13 m/s (25 kts) from WNWEstimated released energy: 1.8 x 1014 joules (49.4 gigawatt hours, equivalent to 42502 tons of TNT or 2.7 atomic bombs!) More info
Data for the same earthquake reported by different agencies
Info: The more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision.
| Magnitude | Depth | Location | Source |
| M 6.3 | 35 km | NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN | EMSC |
| M 6.3 | 43 km | Near East Coast of Honshu, Japan | GFZ |
| M 6.6 | 1.1 km | E OFF AOMORI PREF, Japan | NIED |
| M 6.3 | 10 km | 日本本州东岸近海, Japan | CEIC |
| M 6.3 | 35 km | 98 Km ENE of Hachinohe, Japan | USGS |
| M 6.4 | 20 km | Near East Coast of Eastern Honshu, Japan [Sea: Japan] | INGV |
| M 6.3 | 45 km | Near East Coast of Honshu, Japan | GeoAu |
| M 6.3 | 10 km | 日本本州东岸近海, Japan | CEIC |
| M 6.3 | 10 km | 98 Km ENE of Hachinohe, Japan | CEIC |
| M 6.3 | 10 km | 日本本州东岸近海, Japan | CEIC |
| M 6.3 | 10 km | 日本本州东岸近海, Japan | CEIC |
| M 6.3 | 10 km | 日本本州东岸近海, Japan | CEIC |
User reports for this quake (11)
User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.
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Leave a comment if you find a particular report interesting or want to add to it.
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Mark as helpful or interesting.
Send your own user report!
Hachinohe (101.4 km WSW of epicenter) [Map] / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) / complex motion difficult to describe / 10-15 s : I was watching on demand television during my visit to my step fathers house for Christmas. The earthquake was expected because it was tiny rattling before a huge shake happened. I was able to catch about 5 seconds of the earthquake.
Misawa (108.3 km WSW of epicenter) [Map] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 10-15 s : It was my first earthquake so it was very shocking. Nothing broke but many things fell. 
Misawa, Japan (103.9 km W of epicenter) [Map] / Strong shaking (MMI VI)
100 km WSW of epicenter [Map] / Moderate shaking (MMI V)
166.4 km W of epicenter [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 2-5 s (reported through our app)
Misawa, Japan (103.9 km W of epicenter) [Map] / Strong shaking (MMI VI)
Misawa (103.9 km WSW of epicenter) [Map] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s
656.2 km SSW of epicenter [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) (reported through our app)
103.6 km WSW of epicenter [Map] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) (reported through our app)
Dodgeville Wisconsin / not felt
Misawa, Japan / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / horizontal (sideways) swinging
Aftershocks
Strong mag. 6.3 earthquake - North Pacific Ocean, 98 km northeast of Hachinohe, Aomori, Japan, on Monday, 21 Dec 2020 3:23 am (GMT +10)Please check again later while we are collecting more data.
Earlier earthquakes in the same area since 1900
Strong mag. 6.3 earthquake - North Pacific Ocean, 98 km northeast of Hachinohe, Aomori, Japan, on Monday, 21 Dec 2020 3:23 am (GMT +10)- Date / time UTC| Mag |Depth|Age|Distance| Details
- 02 Mar 1933 17:31| 8.4 |15km / 9.3mi|88 years ago|253km / 157mi| 1933 Sanriku (Sanriku-oki) Earthquake, Japan
- 25 Sep 2003 19:50| 8.2 |27km / 17mi|17 years ago|154km / 96mi| Hokkaido, Japan Region
- 16 May 1968 00:49| 8.2 |30km / 19mi|53 years ago|74km / 46mi| Off the East Coast of Honshu, Japan
- 04 Mar 1952 01:22| 8.1 |45km / 28mi|69 years ago|175km / 109mi| Hokkaido, Japan Region
- 20 Mar 1960 17:07| 8.0 |15km / 9.3mi|61 years ago|125km / 78mi| Off the East Coast of Honshu, Japan
- 16 May 1968 10:39| 7.9 |25km / 16mi|53 years ago|67km / 42mi| Hokkaido, Japan Region
- 28 Dec 1994 12:19| 7.8 |27km / 16mi|26 years ago|82km / 51mi| Off the East Coast of Honshu, Japan
- 09 Mar 1931 03:49| 7.8 |35km / 22mi|90 years ago|36km / 22mi| Near the East Coast of Honshu, Japan
- 09 Aug 1901 18:33| 7.5 |unknown|120 years ago|156km / 97mi| Off the East Coast of Honshu, Japan
- 25 Sep 2003 21:08| 7.4 |33km / 21mi|17 years ago|132km / 82mi| Hokkaido, Japan Region
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