Moderate mag. 4.2 earthquake - Yatsushiro-gun, 5.5 km south of Matsubase, Uki Shi, Kumamoto, Japan, on Sunday, 24 Jan 2021 12:57 am (GMT +9) -
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Moderate magnitude 4.2 earthquake at 13 km depth
23 Jan 16:05 UTC: First to report: NIED after 8 minutes.
Update Sat, 23 Jan 2021, 16:09
Light magnitude 4.2 earthquake 5 km south of Matsubase, Japan4.2 quake 24 Jan 12:57 am (GMT +9)
Just 11 minutes ago, a 4.2-magnitude earthquake struck near Matsubase, Uki Shi, Kumamoto, Japan. The tremor was recorded after midnight on Sunday 24 January 2021 at 12:57 am local time, at a shallow depth of 12.7 km below the surface.
The event was filed by NIED, the first seismological agency to report it.
Our monitoring service identified a second report from the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) which listed the quake at magnitude 3.9.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused any significant damage, but was probably felt by many people as light vibration in the area of the epicenter.
Weak shaking might have been felt in Matsubase (pop. 26,200) located 5 km from the epicenter, Uto (pop. 39,200) 9 km away, Honmachi (pop. 104,300) 12 km away, Kumamoto (pop. 680,400) 23 km away, Uekimachi-mōno (pop. 31,700) 33 km away, Shimabara (pop. 38,100) 34 km away, and Ōzu (pop. 29,800) 37 km away.
Other towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Hitoyoshi (pop. 38,000) located 44 km from the epicenter.
The event was filed by NIED, the first seismological agency to report it.
Our monitoring service identified a second report from the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) which listed the quake at magnitude 3.9.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused any significant damage, but was probably felt by many people as light vibration in the area of the epicenter.
Weak shaking might have been felt in Matsubase (pop. 26,200) located 5 km from the epicenter, Uto (pop. 39,200) 9 km away, Honmachi (pop. 104,300) 12 km away, Kumamoto (pop. 680,400) 23 km away, Uekimachi-mōno (pop. 31,700) 33 km away, Shimabara (pop. 38,100) 34 km away, and Ōzu (pop. 29,800) 37 km away.
Other towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Hitoyoshi (pop. 38,000) located 44 km from the epicenter.
Earthquake data:
Date & time: 23 Jan 2021 15:57:34 UTC -
Local time at epicenter: Sunday, 24 Jan 2021 12:57 am (GMT +9)
Magnitude: 4.2
Depth: 12.7 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 32.601°N / 130.66°E

Nearest volcano: Unzen (38 km / 24 mi)
Nearby towns and cities:
5 km (3 mi) S of Matsubase (Uki) (pop: 26,200) --> See nearby quakes!
9 km (6 mi) S of Uto (pop: 39,200) --> See nearby quakes!
12 km (8 mi) NNE of Honmachi (pop: 104,300) --> See nearby quakes!
23 km (14 mi) S of Kumamoto (pop: 680,400) --> See nearby quakes!
33 km (21 mi) S of Uekimachi-mōno (Kumamoto) (pop: 31,700) --> See nearby quakes!
37 km (23 mi) SSW of Ōzu (Kikuchi District) (pop: 29,800) --> See nearby quakes!
44 km (27 mi) NNW of Hitoyoshi (pop: 38,000) --> See nearby quakes!
52 km (32 mi) SSE of Omuta (Fukuoka) (pop: 132,000) --> See nearby quakes!
113 km (70 mi) SSE of Fukuoka (pop: 1,392,300) --> See nearby quakes!
899 km (559 mi) WSW of Tokyo (pop: 8,336,600) --> See nearby quakes!
Weather at epicenter at time of quake:
Moderate Rain
10°C (50 F), humidity: 93%, wind: 6 m/s (11 kts) from NNE
Primary data source: NIEDModerate Rain

Estimated released energy: 1.3 x 1011 joules (35 megawatt hours, equivalent to 30.1 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 4.2 | 13 km | SOUTHERN KUMAMOTO PREF, Japan | NIED |
M 3.9 | 10 km | KYUSHU, JAPAN | EMSC |
User reports for this quake (2)
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.
Flag as inappropriate.
Mark as helpful or interesting.
Send your own user report!
Kumamoto-shi / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 2-5 s : I was sleeping and could feel my 3rd floor apartment shaking. I remember trying to determine if I should get up or not but it ended maybe 2 or 3 seconds after it started so I didn't.
Kumamoto / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : I could heard earthquake sound before main shaking. i
Earlier earthquakes in the same area since 1900
- Date / time UTC| Mag |Depth|Age|Distance| Details
- 18 Nov 1941 16:46| 7.9 |35km / 22mi|79 years ago|134km / 83mi| Philippines Sea, 54 km E of Миядзаки, Miyazaki, Japan
- 01 Apr 1968 00:42| 7.5 |34km / 21mi|53 years ago|152km / 94mi| Philippines Sea, 40 km SW of Sannose-jima Island, Japan
- 26 Feb 1961 18:10| 7.5 |35km / 22mi|60 years ago|123km / 76mi| Philippines Sea, 21 km S of Miyazaki, Japan
- 02 Nov 1931 10:03| 7.5 |35km / 22mi|89 years ago|149km / 93mi| Philippines Sea, 56 km E of Миядзаки, Miyazaki, Japan
- 15 Apr 2016 16:25| 7.0 |10km / 6.2mi|5 years ago|29km / 18mi| Tamana Shi, 12 km NW of Kumamoto, Japan
- 25 Jul 1970 22:41| 7.0 |45km / 28mi|51 years ago|122km / 76mi| Philippines Sea, 38 km NE of Миядзаки, Miyazaki, Japan
- 21 Apr 1969 07:19| 7.0 |39km / 24mi|52 years ago|130km / 81mi| Philippines Sea, 55 km SE of Nobeoka, Miyazaki, Japan
- 13 Jul 1923 11:13| 7.0 |35km / 22mi|98 years ago|186km / 116mi| Philippines Sea, 27 km N of Нисиноомоте, Japan
- 06 Aug 1984 19:06| 6.9 |46km / 29mi|37 years ago|123km / 76mi| Philippines Sea, 34 km SE of Nobeoka, Miyazaki, Japan
- 01 Apr 1968 07:13| 6.8 |30km / 19mi|53 years ago|144km / 90mi| Philippines Sea, 58 km SE of Nobeoka, Miyazaki, Japan
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