M4.4 earthquake 42 km SE of ?funato, Japan
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck 42 km SE of ?funato, Japan on Mon, Feb 20, 1978, 2:00 PM JST (05:00 UTC), 63 km (39 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.1 78 km ESE of Ishinomaki, Japan. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.4 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-02-20 05:00:30 UTC
- Depth
- 63.0 km (39.1 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 38.765° N, 142.019° E
- Region
- Japan
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Stations used
- 20
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 7 in the 60 days after this one and 5 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.452 km SSE of ?funato, Japan · 17754 days ago · 75 km deep · 12 km away
- 4.5118 km SE of ?funato, Japan · 17753 days ago · 33 km deep · 77 km away
- 5.178 km ESE of Ishinomaki, Japan · 17752 days ago · 86 km deep · 56 km away
- 4.477 km SE of Ishinomaki, Japan · 17751 days ago · 67 km deep · 97 km away
- 4.9130 km SE of Kamaishi, Japan · 17735 days ago · 30 km deep · 96 km away
- 5.134 km SSE of ?funato, Japan · 17733 days ago · 64 km deep · 9 km away
- 4.541 km SE of ?funato, Japan · 17709 days ago · 68 km deep · 2 km away
Before
- 4.637 km S of ?funato, Japan · 17754 days ago · 74 km deep · 21 km away
- 6.137 km SSE of ?funato, Japan · 17754 days ago · 60 km deep · 6 km away
- 5.1106 km ESE of Ishinomaki, Japan · 17755 days ago · 45 km deep · 75 km away
- 4.457 km E of Yamada, Japan · 17769 days ago · 107 km deep · 97 km away
- 4.3112 km ESE of ?funato, Japan · 17782 days ago · 33 km deep · 75 km away
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000t24. Read Wed, Sep 30, 2026, 2:33 AM UTC.