M4.2 earthquake 6 km NW of ?hara, Japan
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 6 km NW of ?hara, Japan on Thu, Aug 15, 1985, 5:14 PM JST (08:14 UTC), 66 km (41 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.9 2 km NE of Shiroi, 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, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1985-08-15 08:14:42 UTC
- Depth
- 65.7 km (40.8 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 35.289° N, 140.347° E
- Region
- Japan
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
Felt (I JMA) at Ajiro and Mito.
From the USGS event page for usp0002hrz. 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 1.5 and up: 7 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.778 km SSE of Hasaki, Japan · 15008 days ago · 33 km deep · 85 km away
- 4.44 km ESE of Shiroi, Japan · 15002 days ago · 83 km deep · 59 km away
- 4.966 km SSE of Katsuura, Japan · 14979 days ago · 75 km deep · 81 km away
- 5.462 km SE of Katsuura, Japan · 14976 days ago · 74 km deep · 72 km away
- 5.92 km NE of Shiroi, Japan · 14975 days ago · 85 km deep · 63 km away
- 4.36 km SSW of Ry?gasaki, Japan · 14975 days ago · 91 km deep · 64 km away
- 4.37 km ENE of Shiroi, Japan · 14968 days ago · 88 km deep · 62 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayJapan earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0002hrz. Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 5:06 PM UTC.