Japan earthquakes

M4.6 earthquake 156 km E of Yamada, Japan

A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 156 km E of Yamada, Japan on Sat, Aug 20, 2016, 2:52 PM JST (05:52 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.8 169 km ENE of Miyako, Japan. This one was a foreshock.

Yamada 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
4.6 (mb, body-wave), light
Magnitude from
USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time
UTC
2016-08-20 05:52:40 UTC
Depth
10.2 km (6.4 mi), shallow
Epicenter
39.474° N, 143.773° E
Region
Japan
Felt reports
1
Tsunami flag
No
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

Did you feel it?

1 person reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was I, not felt shaking.

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

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty
About 8.3 km horizontally, 5.3 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.10
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
172°
Stations used
57

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.6 and up: 9 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 4.4184 km ENE of Miyako, Japan · 3696 days ago · 10 km deep · 82 km away
  2. 4.4181 km ENE of Miyako, Japan · 3696 days ago · 6 km deep · 87 km away
  3. 5.8169 km ENE of Miyako, Japan · 3695 days ago · 11 km deep · 93 km away · felt by 6
  4. 4.7174 km ENE of Miyako, Japan · 3695 days ago · 10 km deep · 75 km away
  5. 5.2171 km ENE of Miyako, Japan · 3695 days ago · 10 km deep · 94 km away
  6. 5.3145 km E of Miyako, Japan · 3694 days ago · 6 km deep · 33 km away
  7. 4.1119 km ESE of Yamada, Japan · 3682 days ago · 10 km deep · 62 km away
  8. 4.1133 km E of Yamada, Japan · 3681 days ago · 23 km deep · 24 km away
  9. 4.1196 km ESE of Yamada, Japan · 3660 days ago · 10 km deep · 66 km away

Before

  1. 5.3137 km E of Yamada, Japan · 3696 days ago · 23 km deep · 22 km away · felt by 3

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us10006fd3. Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 1:06 AM UTC.