M5.2 earthquake 171 km ENE of Miyako, Japan
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 171 km ENE of Miyako, Japan on Sun, Aug 21, 2016, 1:28 AM JST (16:28 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.3 145 km E of Miyako, Japan. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.2 (Mww, W-phase moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2016-08-20 16:28:12 UTC
- Depth
- 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 40.317° N, 143.744° E
- Region
- Japan
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Magnitude estimates
Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.2 | Mww, W-phase moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.28 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
Recorded (1 JMA) in Aomori, Iwate and Miyagi.
From the USGS event page for us10006ffr. 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.
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
- 5.2 Mww
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 32°, dip 75°, rake 90°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 212°, dip 15°, rake 89°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 5.9 km horizontally, 1.8 km in depth
- Depth from
- Operator assigned
- Station coverage gap
- 88°
- Stations used
- 103
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.2 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 8 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.2191 km E of Hachinohe, Japan · 3695 days ago · 10 km deep · 40 km away · felt by 4
- 5.3145 km E of Miyako, Japan · 3694 days ago · 6 km deep · 63 km away
- 4.1133 km E of Yamada, Japan · 3681 days ago · 23 km deep · 97 km away
Before
- 5.2168 km ENE of Miyako, Japan · 3696 days ago · 10 km deep · 15 km away
- 4.7174 km ENE of Miyako, Japan · 3696 days ago · 10 km deep · 22 km away
- 5.8169 km ENE of Miyako, Japan · 3696 days ago · 11 km deep · 1 km away · felt by 6
- 4.4181 km ENE of Miyako, Japan · 3696 days ago · 6 km deep · 16 km away
- 4.4184 km ENE of Miyako, Japan · 3696 days ago · 10 km deep · 23 km away
- 6.0170 km ENE of Miyako, Japan · 3696 days ago · 10 km deep · 10 km away · felt by 7
- 4.6156 km E of Yamada, Japan · 3696 days ago · 10 km deep · 94 km away · felt by 1
- 5.3137 km E of Yamada, Japan · 3696 days ago · 23 km deep · 86 km away · felt by 3
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us10006ffr (also filed as iscgem611830381). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 6:48 AM UTC.