Light mag. 4.6 earthquake - Japan Sea, 41 km northeast of Yagishiri Island, Hokkaido, Japan, on Thursday, 21 Jan 2021 4:54 pm (GMT +9) -
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Light magnitude 4.6 earthquake at 287 km depth
21 Jan 08:03 UTC: First to report: NIED after 9 minutes.
Update Thu, 21 Jan 2021, 08:09
Light earthquake of magnitude 4.6 just reported 68 km northwest of Nayoro, Japan4.6 quake 21 Jan 4:54 pm (GMT +9)
An earthquake of magnitude 4.6 occurred in the afternoon on Thursday 21 January 2021 at 4:54 pm local time near Nayoro, Nayoro Shi, Hokkaido, Japan, as reported by NIED.
According to preliminary data, the quake was located at an intermediate to considerable depth of 287.2 km. The strength of the earthquake may have been tempered by its relative great depth below the surface, which makes it feel weaker in absolute terms. 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.
According to preliminary calculations, we do not expect that the quake was felt by many people and did not cause any damage. In Nayoro (pop. 26,500, 68 km away), Makubetsu (pop. 25,900, 74 km away), Wakkanai (pop. 41,600, 78 km away), Rumoi (pop. 26,500, 87 km away), Fukagawa (pop. 26,200, 114 km away), and Asahikawa (pop. 356,600, 115 km away), the quake was probably not felt.
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.
According to preliminary data, the quake was located at an intermediate to considerable depth of 287.2 km. The strength of the earthquake may have been tempered by its relative great depth below the surface, which makes it feel weaker in absolute terms. 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.
According to preliminary calculations, we do not expect that the quake was felt by many people and did not cause any damage. In Nayoro (pop. 26,500, 68 km away), Makubetsu (pop. 25,900, 74 km away), Wakkanai (pop. 41,600, 78 km away), Rumoi (pop. 26,500, 87 km away), Fukagawa (pop. 26,200, 114 km away), and Asahikawa (pop. 356,600, 115 km away), the quake was probably not felt.
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:
Date & time: 21 Jan 2021 07:54:34 UTC -
Local time at epicenter: Thursday, 21 Jan 2021 4:54 pm (GMT +9)
Magnitude: 4.6
Depth: 287.2 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 44.71°N / 141.765°E

Nearest volcano: Rishiri (66 km / 41 mi)
Nearby towns and cities:
68 km (42 mi) NW of Nayoro (pop: 26,500) --> See nearby quakes!
74 km (46 mi) S of Makubetsu (Wakkanai) (pop: 25,900) --> See nearby quakes!
78 km (49 mi) S of Wakkanai (pop: 41,600) --> See nearby quakes!
87 km (54 mi) N of Rumoi (pop: 26,500) --> See nearby quakes!
115 km (71 mi) NNW of Asahikawa (pop: 356,600) --> See nearby quakes!
129 km (80 mi) N of Takikawa (pop: 45,100) --> See nearby quakes!
168 km (104 mi) N of Iwamizawa (pop: 85,100) --> See nearby quakes!
179 km (111 mi) N of Ebetsu (pop: 134,000) --> See nearby quakes!
180 km (112 mi) NNE of Otaru (pop: 143,800) --> See nearby quakes!
186 km (115 mi) N of Sapporo (pop: 1,883,000) --> See nearby quakes!
41 km (26 mi) NE of Yagishiri Island (pop: 273) --> See nearby quakes!
126 km (78 mi) NW of Hokkaido Island (pop: 5,500,000) --> See nearby quakes!
Weather at epicenter at time of quake:
Broken Clouds
1°C (34 F), humidity: 83%, wind: 9 m/s (18 kts) from W
Primary data source: NIEDBroken Clouds

Estimated released energy: 5 x 1011 joules (139 megawatt hours, equivalent to 120 tons of TNT) 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 4.6 | 287 km | SOYA REGION, Japan | NIED |
User reports for this quake
User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.
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There are no user reports for this quake yet. If you felt it Earlier earthquakes in the same area since 1900
- Date / time UTC| Mag |Depth|Age|Distance| Details
- 28 Feb 1950 10:21| 7.7 |329km / 204mi|71 years ago|188km / 117mi| Sea of Okhotsk, 61 km S of Ostrov Mosiri Island, Sakhalin Oblast, Russia
- 01 Aug 1940 15:08| 7.5 |15km / 9.3mi|81 years ago|181km / 113mi| Japan Sea, 221 km NW of Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
- 05 Sep 1971 18:35| 7.3 |18.1km / 11.2mi|50 years ago|204km / 127mi| Tatar Strait, 28 km N of Ostrov Moneron Island, Sakhalin Oblast, Russia
- 19 Jan 1969 07:02| 7.0 |245km / 152mi|52 years ago|120km / 75mi| Sea of Okhotsk, 71 km N of Mombetsu, Monbetsu Shi, Hokkaido, Japan
- 04 Nov 1947 00:09| 7.0 |15km / 9.3mi|73 years ago|110km / 69mi| Japan Sea, 70 km W of Rumoi, Hokkaido, Japan
- 02 Feb 2013 14:17| 6.9 |103km / 64mi|8 years ago|236km / 147mi| 16 km SW of Obihiro, Hokkaido, Japan
- 08 Sep 1971 11:48| 6.8 |17.5km / 10.9mi|50 years ago|193km / 120mi| Tatar Strait, 17 km N of Ostrov Moneron Island, Sakhalin Oblast, Russia
- 04 Nov 1967 14:30| 6.7 |30km / 19mi|53 years ago|243km / 151mi| Kawakami-gun, 46 km SE of Kitami, Ktiami Shi, Hokkaido, Japan
- 05 Sep 2018 18:08| 6.6 |27km / 17mi|2 years ago|202km / 125mi| Yūbari-gun, 26 km E of Chitose, Hokkaido, Japan
- 27 Sep 1971 19:01| 6.6 |18.4km / 11.4mi|49 years ago|188km / 117mi| Tatar Strait, 13 km NW of Ostrov Moneron Island, Sakhalin Oblast, Russia
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