Reviewed by USGSJapan14d ago
M5.1 earthquake 99 km S of Yudomari, Japan
Saturday, September 12, 2026, 20:32:57 UTC · 29.337°N, 130.384°E
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 99 km S of Yudomari, Japan on Saturday, September 12, 2026, 20:32:57 UTC, at a depth of 35.1 km (shallow). USGS received 1 “Did You Feel It?” report, with a maximum reported intensity of II (weak). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.1 on July 23, 2026.
- Magnitude
- 5.1
- Moderate · mww
- Depth
- 35 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 1
- Max intensity II
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
674 tons of TNT
That is about 1/22 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
122 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Okinawa and Philippine Sea plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
35 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
Reports sent by people to USGS, grouped by place (most reports first). Intensity uses the Modified Mercalli scale (I–X): what people felt, not the magnitude.
| Place | Intensity | Reports | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nishinoomote, Kagoshima, Japan | II · Weak | 1 | 169 km |
USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 75 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km since this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 724 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.9108 km NW of Naze, JapanJune 15, 1911 · 155 km W of this epicenter
- 7.678 km S of Naze, JapanJune 16, 1938 · 207 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.518 km NNE of Nichinan, JapanFebruary 26, 1961 · 287 km N of this epicenter
- 7.4152 km ESE of Koshima, JapanFebruary 1, 1916 · 146 km E of this epicenter
- 7.422 km N of Nishinoomote, JapanJuly 13, 1923 · 188 km N of this epicenter
- 7.2Ryukyu Islands, JapanJune 24, 1901 · 153 km S of this epicenter
- 7.2101 km NE of Naze, JapanNovember 5, 1923 · 46 km S of this epicenter
- 7.12024 Hyuganada Sea, Japan EarthquakeAugust 8, 2024 · 290 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 16 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 80 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1914M7.1
Sakurijima
12 Jan 1914 · 251 km away
63 deaths$19 million damagetsunami
- 1911M8.0
Ryukyu Islands
15 Jun 1911 · 153 km away
12 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1968M6.3
Kyushu
21 Feb 1968 · 297 km away
3 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1961M7.3
Miyazaki
26 Feb 1961 · 286 km away
2 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1997M6.1
Kyushu, Kagoshima
26 Mar 1997 · 287 km away · intensity VI
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1901M7.9
Ryukyu Islands
24 Jun 1901 · 263 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.