Quake Info: Strong Mag. 5.4 Earthquake - North Pacific Ocean, 53 km Southeast of Iwaki, Fukushima, Japan, on Sunday, May 22, 2022 at 12:24 pm (GMT +9)

Strong magnitude 5.4 earthquake at 10 km depth

22 May 03:27 UTC: First to report: VolcanoDiscovery after 3 minutes.
22 May 03:34: Now using data updates from GFZ
22 May 03:43: Now using data updates from USGS

Update Sun, 22 May 2022, 03:42

Significant 5.2 quake hits near Iwaki, Iwaki-shi, Fukushima, Japan

5.2 quake 22 May 12:24 pm (GMT +9)

A magnitude 5.2 earthquake near Iwaki, Iwaki-shi, Fukushima, Japan, was reported only 18 minutes ago by the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), considered one of the key international agencies that monitor seismic activity worldwide. The earthquake occurred at a shallow depth of 10 km beneath the epicenter around noon on Sunday, May 22nd, 2022, at 12:24 pm 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.
A second report was later issued by the citizen-seismograph network of RaspberryShake, which listed it as a magnitude 5.2 earthquake as well. Other agencies reporting the same quake include France's Réseau National de Surveillance Sismique (RéNaSS) at magnitude 5.6, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) at magnitude 5.5, and the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) at magnitude 5.3.
Generally quakes of this magnitude are recorded by more than one agency and the results can vary, with subsequent reports that come in after the first one often showing more accuracy.
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 Iwaki (pop. 357,300) located 36 km from the epicenter, the quake should have been felt as light shaking.
Weak shaking might have been felt in Kitaibaraki (pop. 50,800) located 51 km from the epicenter, Takahagi (pop. 33,600) 58 km away, Hitachi (pop. 186,300) 70 km away, Sukagawa (pop. 68,800) 87 km away, Hitachi-Naka (pop. 156,800) 92 km away, Kōriyama (pop. 340,600) 93 km away, and Katsuta (pop. 156,000) 93 km away.
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.

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Earthquake data

Earthquake details

Date & time	May 22, 2022 03:24:11 UTC -
Local time at epicenter	Sunday, May 22, 2022 at 12:24 pm (GMT +9)
Status	Confirmed
Magnitude	5.4
Depth	10.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude	36.8333°N / 141.4118°E (North Pacific Ocean, Japan)
Antipode	36.833°S / 38.588°W
Shaking intensity	Light shaking
Felt	15 reports
Primary data source	USGS (United States Geological Survey)
Nearest volcano	Adatara (116 km / 72 mi)
Nearby towns and cities	53 km (33 mi) ESE of Iwaki (pop: 357,300) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 59 km (37 mi) E of Kitaibaraki (pop: 50,800) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 63 km (39 mi) ENE of Takahagi (pop: 33,600) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 73 km (45 mi) ENE of Hitachi (pop: 186,300) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 92 km (57 mi) ENE of Hitachi-Naka (pop: 156,800) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 93 km (58 mi) ENE of Katsuta (pop: 156,000) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 200 km (124 mi) NE of Tokyo (pop: 8,336,600) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 222 km (138 mi) NE of Yokohama (pop: 3,574,400) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 163 km (101 mi) S of Tashiro Jima Island (pop: 100) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 295 km (183 mi) ESE of Sado Island (pop: 55,200) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 319 km (198 mi) ENE of Honshu Island (pop: 104,000,000) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby
Weather at epicenter at time of quake	Overcast Clouds 15.1°C (59 F), humidity: 83%, wind: 9 m/s (18 kts) from NNE
Estimated seismic energy released	7.9 x 10¹² joules (2.21 gigawatt hours, equivalent to 1898 tons of TNT or 0.1 atomic bombs!) \| about seismic energy

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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.

Mag.	Depth	Location	Source
5.4	10 km	Near East Coast of Honshu, Japan	USGS
5.4	10 km	NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN	EMSC
5.3	10 km	Japan: Near Tokyo	RENASS
5.4	10 km	Near East Coast of Honshu, Japan	RaspberryShake
5.4	10 km	52 Km ESE of Iwaki, Japan	GFZ
5.5	23 km	Near East Coast of Honshu, Japan	GeoAu

Most recent quakes Top 20 past 24 hrs Quakes in Japan

User reports for this quake (15)

User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.

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Tsukuba (143.7 km SW of epicenter) [Map] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 5-10 s : I was setting outside on the floor | 2 users found this interesting.

Hotel in Narita japan / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 15-20 s : Creaking in structure and light vibration of bed | 2 users found this interesting.

narita, chiba / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s : just noticable shaking but felt like it was big one somewhere | One user found this interesting.

Sendai, Miyagi (167.4 km NNW of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s

Sendai, Miyagi (171.2 km NNW of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s (reported through our app)

nishiaraidaishinishi, ADACHI (188.3 km SW of epicenter) [Map] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s

To (200.8 km SW of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV)

Tokyo (193.6 km SW of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III)

Hotel in Narita japan / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 15-20 s : Creaking in structure and light vibration of bed

Tokyo / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 10-15 s (reported through our app)

Shinjuku, Tokyo / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s

Naritasan / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s

Aftershocks

[More info]

Recorded aftershocks, latest first (6 quakes)

Date and time	Mag Depth	Location	Details
Jun 26, 2022 02:10 4 days ago	3.1 75 km	North Pacific Ocean, 43 km SE of Iwaki, Fukushima, Japan	More
Jun 25, 2022 13:16 5 days ago	2.7 50 km	North Pacific Ocean, 79 km SE of Iwaki, Fukushima, Japan	More
Jun 7, 2022 01:31 3 weeks ago	2.5 30 km	North Pacific Ocean, 49 km E of Iwaki, Fukushima, Japan	More
May 22, 2022 19:26 5 weeks ago	3.7 30 km	North Pacific Ocean, 54 km SE of Iwaki, Fukushima, Japan	More
May 22, 2022 18:27 5 weeks ago	2.5 38 km	North Pacific Ocean, 51 km SE of Iwaki, Fukushima, Japan	More
May 22, 2022 03:31 6 weeks ago	2.6 45 km	North Pacific Ocean, 50 km SE of Iwaki, Fukushima, Japan	More

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