Strong magnitude 5.4 earthquake at 36 km depth26 Mar 20:03 UTC: First to report: NIED after 7 minutes.I didn't feel itI felt this quakeEarthquake detailsDate & timeMar 26, 2026 19:56:30 UTC - Local time at epicenterFriday, Mar 27, 2026, at 05:56 am (GMT +10)Statusunconfirmed (uncertain whether an earthquake with these data happened)Magnitude5.4Depth35.7 kmEpicenter latitude / longitude39.526°N / 143.617°EJapanSeismic antipode39.526°S / 36.383°WShaking intensityV Moderate shaking near epicenterFelt0 reportsPrimary data sourceNIED (National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience)Nearest volcanoNanashigure (223 km / 139 mi)Weather at epicenter at time of quakeOvercast Clouds 6.1°C (43 F), humidity: 74%, wind: 9 m/s (17 kts) from ESEEstimated seismic energy released7.9 x 1012 joules (2.21 gigawatt hours, equivalent to 1898 tons of TNT or 0.1 atomic bombs!) | equivalent to ONE quake of magnitude 5.4 | about seismic energy8 minutes agoMar 26, 2026 19:56 GMT / Mar 27, 2026 05:56 am (GMT +10)Lat / Lng: 39.526 / 143.617: Japan: Far E Off SanrikuSource: NIEDDetail info | You felt it? - Report it!';storedMarkers.push(['quake-22846098',39.52600,143.61700,'8 minutes ago: Mag. 5.4, Japan: Far E Off Sanriku',html,'quakes-7-24.png',30,30,15,15,126]); function mkRep(id,notFelt){var nFelt=notFelt||false;var src="https://www.volcanoesandearthquakes.com/app/earthquake-report.php?quakeId="+id;if(nFelt==true){src+="¬Felt=true";}window.open(src,"","status=0,toolbar=0,location=0,directories=0,menubar=0,resizable=1,scrollbars=1,height=400,width=350");} function locationHashChanged(e){-1!=e.oldURL.indexOf("#popupMap")&&closePopup()} window.onhashchange = locationHashChanged; function comment(e){var t=e.parentNode,a=(t.dataset.id,document.getElementById("commentForm"));"none"==a.style.display?(t.appendChild(a),a.style.display="block"):a.style.display="none"}function sendComment(e){var t=e.parentNode,a=t.parentNode.dataset.id,n=document.getElementById("commentContent"),p=n.value.trim();if(p){var o="id="+a+"&quakeId="+thisQuakeId;o+="&comment="+decodeURIComponent(p),mkRequest("//reports.volcanodiscovery.com/app/eqReportComment.php","post",o,function(e){e.responseText;alert("Thank you for submitting your comment!"),t.style.display="none",n.value=""})}}function flagReport(e){var t=e.parentNode.dataset.id;if(confirm("Report this as inappropriate?")){var a="id="+t+"&quakeId="+thisQuakeId+"&flagAsInappropriate=1";mkRequest("//reports.volcanodiscovery.com/app/eqReportComment.php","post",a,function(t){var a=t.responseText;alert(a),e.style.display="none"})}}function likeReport(e){var t="id="+e.parentNode.dataset.id+"&quakeId="+thisQuakeId+"&like=1";mkRequest("//reports.volcanodiscovery.com/app/eqReportComment.php","post",t,function(t){t.responseText;e.style.opacity=.5})}]]>[smaller] [bigger]Most recent quakes Top 20 past 24 hrs Quakes in JapanNearby placesThe closest larger town where the quake might have been felt is Yamada, a town with 15,000 inhabitants in Japan, in 143 km (89 mi) distance west of the epicenter. People likely experienced weak shaking there. In the capital of Japan, Tokyo, 549 km (341 mi) away from the epicenter, the earthquake was probably felt as very weak shaking.The following table shows some of the places that might have been affected (or not) by the shaking.DistancePlaceMax. shaking intensity(*)RegionCountry143 km (89 mi)W of epicenterYamada(pop: 15,200)III: WeakShimohei-gun, IwateJapan144 km (90 mi)W of epicenterMiyako(pop: 51,200)III: WeakIwateJapan153 km (95 mi)W of epicenterKamaishi(pop: 43,100)III: WeakIwateJapan171 km (106 mi)W of epicenterOfunato(pop: 35,500)III: WeakOfunato-shi, IwateJapan174 km (108 mi)NW of epicenterKuji(pop: 34,400)III: WeakIwateJapan178 km (111 mi)W of epicenterRikuzen-Takata(pop: 18,300)III: WeakIwateJapan181 km (112 mi)W of epicenterTono(pop: 26,100)III: WeakTono Shi, IwateJapan189 km (117 mi)W of epicenterKesennuma(pop: 61,100)III: WeakMiyagiJapan210 km (131 mi)W of epicenterHizume(pop: 32,100)III: WeakShiwa-gun, IwateJapan210 km (131 mi)NW of epicenterHachinohe(pop: 239,000)III: WeakAomoriJapan212 km (132 mi)W of epicenterYahaba(pop: 28,100)III: WeakShiwa-gun, IwateJapan212 km (132 mi)W of epicenterMorioka(pop: 290,700)III: WeakIwateJapan214 km (133 mi)NW of epicenterNinohe(pop: 25,500)III: WeakIwateJapan215 km (133 mi)W of epicenterTakizawa(pop: 55,600)III: WeakIwateJapan215 km (134 mi)W of epicenterOshu(pop: 112,900)III: WeakOshu Shi, IwateJapan215 km (134 mi)W of epicenterHanamaki(pop: 94,700)III: WeakIwateJapan217 km (135 mi)W of epicenterKitakami(pop: 93,000)III: WeakIwateJapan218 km (136 mi)W of epicenterMizusawa(pop: 61,300)III: WeakOshu Shi, IwateJapan224 km (139 mi)W of epicenterIchinoseki(pop: 114,500)III: WeakIwateJapan229 km (142 mi)NW of epicenterMisawa(pop: 42,800)III: WeakAomoriJapan231 km (144 mi)SW of epicenterTome(pop: 77,900)III: WeakMiyagiJapan235 km (146 mi)SW of epicenterIshinomaki(pop: 140,200)III: WeakMiyagiJapan238 km (148 mi)NW of epicenterTowada(pop: 60,700)III: WeakAomoriJapan242 km (150 mi)W of epicenterKurihara(pop: 66,600)III: WeakMiyagiJapan245 km (152 mi)SW of epicenterHigashimatsushima(pop: 39,100)III: WeakMiyagiJapan251 km (156 mi)SW of epicenterOsaki(pop: 128,800)III: WeakOsaki Shi, MiyagiJapan253 km (157 mi)SW of epicenterFurukawa(pop: 76,300)III: WeakOsaki Shi, MiyagiJapan261 km (162 mi)SW of epicenterShiogama(pop: 52,700)III: WeakMiyagiJapan264 km (164 mi)SW of epicenterTagajo-shi(pop: 62,800)III: WeakTagajo Shi, MiyagiJapan265 km (164 mi)W of epicenterYokote(pop: 85,600)III: WeakAkitaJapan268 km (166 mi)SW of epicenterTomiya(pop: 52,400)III: WeakMiyagiJapan269 km (167 mi)W of epicenterDaisen(pop: 91,100)III: WeakAkitaJapan271 km (168 mi)W of epicenterYuzawa(pop: 44,300)III: WeakAkitaJapan274 km (170 mi)W of epicenterOdate(pop: 69,200)III: WeakOdate-shi, AkitaJapan276 km (172 mi)SW of epicenterSendai(pop: 1,096,700)III: WeakMiyagiJapan281 km (175 mi)SW of epicenterNatori-shi(pop: 78,700)III: WeakNatori Shi, MiyagiJapan282 km (175 mi)NW of epicenterMutsu(pop: 56,200)III: WeakAomoriJapan284 km (177 mi)NW of epicenterAomori(pop: 298,400)III: WeakAomoriJapan293 km (182 mi)NW of epicenterHirosaki(pop: 168,700)III: WeakAomoriJapan549 km (341 mi)SW of epicenterTokyo(pop: 9,733,300)II: Very weakTokyoJapanNotes:(*) Shaking intensity according to the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale (MMI) and estimated using seismic models.User-reports for this quakeThere are no user reports for this quake yet.If you felt it, be the first to report it!Get the Android appCompare Quake DataData for the same earthquake as reported by different agenciesThe more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision.MagDepthTime GMT2026-03-26EpicenterAgency5.436 km22 mi19:56:30FAR E OFF SANRIKUNIED (National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience)Aftershocks for this quakeNo aftershocks have been recorded so far. When aftershocks are detected, we will update this section.What are aftershocks?Larger earthquakes (above magnitude 5 or so) such as this one are usually followed by smaller ones known as aftershocks that occur in the same area during the days, weeks, months or even years after the main shock.[More info]What about this quake?Based on its magnitude, the fault that was active during the quake likely ruptured beneath a surface area of approximately 25 km2 (10 square miles) as a first-order estimate. The length of the rupture zone thus was probably around 9 km (5 mi).[More info]Recorded aftershocks, latest first (0 quake)Mar 27, 2026 05:56 am (GMT +10)8 minutes ago5.436 km0 km - This quakeNorth Pacific Ocean, 212 km E of Morioka, Iwate, JapanMain Shock (this quake)MoreMap of aftershocksEarthquake statisticsAverage number of earthquakesBased on data from the past 26 years and our earthquake archive back to 1900, there are about 1,300 quakes on average per year in the area near the epicenter of this quake (within 100 km/61 mi):Mag. 7 or higher: 0.09 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 11.5 years)Mag. 6 or higher: 0.9 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 1.1 years)Mag. 5 or higher: 8.5 quakes per yearMag. 4 or higher: 39.9 quakes per year (or 3.3 quakes per month)Mag. 3 or higher: 112 quakes per year (or 9.4 quakes per month)Mag. 2 or higher: 345 quakes per year (or 28.8 quakes per month)Mag. 1 or higher: 1,200 quakes per year (or 3.2 quakes per day)The area where this quake occurred has a very high level of seismic activity. It has had at least 11 quakes above magnitude 7 since 1900, which suggests that larger earthquakes of this size occur infrequently, probably on average approximately every 10 to 15 years.Number of quakes per yearPrevious quakes in the same area of this earthquake