Japan earthquakes

M4.2 earthquake 4 km E of Chiba, Japan

A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 4 km E of Chiba, Japan on Thu, Nov 17, 2016, 1:01 AM JST (16:01 UTC), 63 km (39 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.0 23 km NNE of Hasaki, Japan. This one was a foreshock.

Chiba forecastMore in Japan

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
4.2 (Mwr, regional moment), light
Magnitude from
USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time
UTC
2016-11-16 16:01:57 UTC
Depth
62.9 km (39.1 mi), shallow
Epicenter
35.595° N, 140.166° E
Region
Japan
Felt reports
30
Tsunami flag
No
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

What happened

The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.

Felt (III) at Chiba, Tokyo and Yokohama. Also felt at Ichikawa, Inzai, Kawaguchi, Kawasaki, Komae, Shiroi, Soka, Tsuchiura, Urayasu, Wako, Yamato, Yokosuka and Zushi. Recorded (2 JMA) in Chiba, Kanagawa, Saitama and Tokyo.

From the USGS event page for usa0014cs4. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.

Did you feel it?

30 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was III, weak shaking.

Did You Feel It? map: shaking reported by the public
Shaking reported by the public, by area. Map: USGS Did You Feel It?

Fault motion and ground failure

How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.

Faulting
Reverse (thrust)
Moment magnitude
4.2 Mwr
Nodal plane 1
Strike 17°, dip 72°, rake 105°
Nodal plane 2
Strike 158°, dip 23°, rake 53°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty
About 6.8 km horizontally, 6.6 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.09
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
117°
Stations used
115

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 8 in the 60 days after this one and 9 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 4.123 km ENE of Hasaki, Japan · 3606 days ago · 43 km deep · 85 km away
  2. 5.023 km NNE of Hasaki, Japan · 3605 days ago · 19 km deep · 81 km away · felt by 27
  3. 4.72 km SSW of Chiba, Japan · 3593 days ago · 73 km deep · 6 km away · felt by 12
  4. 4.022 km NE of Hasaki, Japan · 3580 days ago · 37 km deep · 83 km away · felt by 1
  5. 4.74 km NNW of ?ami, Japan · 3571 days ago · 79 km deep · 13 km away
  6. 4.75 km SW of Mitsukaid?, Japan · 3570 days ago · 54 km deep · 48 km away · felt by 24
  7. 4.58 km SSE of Tsukuba, Japan · 3553 days ago · 78 km deep · 59 km away · felt by 7
  8. 5.09 km SW of Hasaki, Japan · 3552 days ago · 49 km deep · 55 km away · felt by 32

Before

  1. 4.717 km N of Hasaki, Japan · 3611 days ago · 40 km deep · 70 km away · felt by 12
  2. 4.66 km NE of Kasukabe, Japan · 3616 days ago · 90 km deep · 57 km away
  3. 4.541 km SE of Hasaki, Japan · 3625 days ago · 27 km deep · 92 km away
  4. 4.2near the east coast of Honshu, Japan · 3630 days ago · 59 km deep · 13 km away · felt by 42
  5. 4.538 km SE of Tateyama, Japan · 3631 days ago · 55 km deep · 100 km away
  6. 4.235 km SSE of Kamogawa, Japan · 3631 days ago · 64 km deep · 90 km away
  7. 4.48 km ESE of Omigawa, Japan · 3633 days ago · 43 km deep · 55 km away
  8. 5.37 km S of Sawara, Japan · 3637 days ago · 19 km deep · 40 km away · felt by 82
  9. 4.48 km SW of Ishioka, Japan · 3637 days ago · 51 km deep · 60 km away · felt by 7

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usa0014cs4. Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 4:08 PM UTC.