M4.2 earthquake 51 km E of Iwaki, Japan
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 51 km E of Iwaki, Japan on Sat, Sep 9, 1978, 8:59 PM JST (11:59 UTC), 80 km (50 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.5 70 km ESE of Namie, Japan. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.2 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-09-09 11:59:44 UTC
- Depth
- 80.0 km (49.7 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 37.071° N, 141.461° 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
- 32
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
Earthquakes todayJapan earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000wfd. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 11:17 AM UTC.