M4.8 earthquake 46 km ESE of Hitachi, Japan
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 46 km ESE of Hitachi, Japan on Thu, Jan 20, 1983, 11:12 AM JST (02:12 UTC), 49 km (31 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.0 56 km E of Kitaibaraki, Japan. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.8 (mb, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1983-01-20 02:12:32 UTC
- Depth
- 49.4 km (30.7 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 36.406° N, 141.108° E
- Region
- Japan
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
Felt (II JMA) at Mito.
From the USGS event page for usp0001sdr. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.8 and up: 6 in the 60 days after this one and 5 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.790 km ENE of Hasaki, Japan · 15955 days ago · 55 km deep · 58 km away
- 5.056 km E of Kitaibaraki, Japan · 15954 days ago · 55 km deep · 41 km away
- 4.47 km E of Daigo, Japan · 15935 days ago · 121 km deep · 72 km away
- 4.894 km NE of Hasaki, Japan · 15925 days ago · 52 km deep · 56 km away
- 4.539 km E of Iwaki, Japan · 15922 days ago · 64 km deep · 68 km away
- 4.746 km E of Kitaibaraki, Japan · 15914 days ago · 52 km deep · 42 km away
Before
- 4.72 km WNW of Hitachi, Japan · 15979 days ago · 103 km deep · 49 km away
- 4.758 km ESE of Hasaki, Japan · 15981 days ago · 33 km deep · 98 km away
- 4.357 km E of Kitaibaraki, Japan · 15982 days ago · 52 km deep · 40 km away
- 4.689 km E of ?arai, Japan · 15983 days ago · 57 km deep · 43 km away
- 4.664 km ENE of Hasaki, Japan · 15985 days ago · 41 km deep · 69 km away
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001sdr. Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 8:38 AM UTC.