Japan earthquakes

M4.4 earthquake 14 km NW of Hitachi, Japan

A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck 14 km NW of Hitachi, Japan on Thu, Dec 29, 2016, 1:41 PM JST (04:41 UTC), 36 km (22 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.3 39 km ENE of Iwaki, Japan. This one was a foreshock.

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Map

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude
4.4 (mb, body-wave), light
Magnitude from
USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time
UTC
2016-12-29 04:41:12 UTC
Depth
36.2 km (22.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter
36.678° N, 140.514° E
Region
Japan
Tsunami flag
No
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

What happened

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

Recorded (3 JMA) in Ibaraki.

From the USGS event page for us10007tnu. 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.

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty
About 9.7 km horizontally, 10.5 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.19
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
153°
Stations used
18

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 18 in the 60 days after this one and 7 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 5.217 km SSE of Iwaki, Japan · 3560 days ago · 53 km deep · 46 km away · felt by 57
  2. 4.445 km ENE of Iwaki, Japan · 3560 days ago · 10 km deep · 95 km away
  3. 5.339 km ENE of Iwaki, Japan · 3560 days ago · 10 km deep · 88 km away · felt by 69
  4. 4.220 km SE of Iwaki, Japan · 3556 days ago · 47 km deep · 52 km away · felt by 2
  5. 4.417 km W of Namie, Japan · 3553 days ago · 91 km deep · 90 km away
  6. 4.58 km SSE of Tsukuba, Japan · 3552 days ago · 78 km deep · 70 km away · felt by 7
  7. 4.14 km ENE of Ishige, Japan · 3546 days ago · 49 km deep · 76 km away · felt by 1
  8. 4.57 km E of Funaishikawa, Japan · 3546 days ago · 59 km deep · 25 km away · felt by 35
  9. 4.3near the east coast of Honshu, Japan · 3530 days ago · 37 km deep · 68 km away · felt by 2
  10. 4.423 km NNE of Kashima-shi, Japan · 3527 days ago · 47 km deep · 63 km away · felt by 3
  11. 4.613 km WNW of Takahagi, Japan · 3526 days ago · 36 km deep · 11 km away · felt by 6
  12. 4.251 km ESE of Hitachi, Japan · 3524 days ago · 41 km deep · 66 km away · felt by 7
  13. 4.143 km ENE of Iwaki, Japan · 3522 days ago · 10 km deep · 91 km away
  14. 4.36 km NE of Mitsukaid?, Japan · 3508 days ago · 55 km deep · 82 km away · felt by 2
  15. 4.343 km ESE of Hitachi, Japan · 3508 days ago · 36 km deep · 58 km away · felt by 2
  16. 4.19 km NNE of Sakai, Japan · 3508 days ago · 56 km deep · 83 km away · felt by 19
  17. 4.632 km SSE of Namie, Japan · 3507 days ago · 61 km deep · 86 km away · felt by 1
  18. 4.827 km ENE of Iwaki, Japan · 3507 days ago · 48 km deep · 79 km away · felt by 34

Before

  1. 4.76 km WNW of Kitaibaraki, Japan · 3567 days ago · 10 km deep · 20 km away · felt by 1
  2. 5.913 km NE of Daigo, Japan · 3567 days ago · 7 km deep · 21 km away · felt by 178
  3. 4.663 km ESE of Hitachi, Japan · 3568 days ago · 33 km deep · 78 km away
  4. 4.75 km SW of Mitsukaid?, Japan · 3570 days ago · 54 km deep · 93 km away · felt by 24
  5. 4.442 km E of Iwaki, Japan · 3575 days ago · 32 km deep · 88 km away
  6. 4.4near the east coast of Honshu, Japan · 3576 days ago · 58 km deep · 18 km away
  7. 3.847 km ENE of Iwaki, Japan · 3588 days ago · 4 km deep · 95 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us10007tnu. Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 8:49 AM UTC.