M3.8 earthquake 73 km E of Minami-Sōma, Fukushima, Japan
A magnitude 3.8 earthquake struck 73 km E of Minami-Sōma, Fukushima, Japan at 01:23 local time (16:23 UTC) on 4 Sept 2026, at a depth of 50 km, according to JMA. The solution is preliminary and may be revised.
Data: JMA · updated 2026-09-03 16:26 UTC · automatic solution
- Magnitude
- 3.8minor
JMA magnitude (Mj) - Depth
- 50 km
- Status
- Automatic
- Origin time
- 2026-09-03 16:23:00 UTC
- Local: 4 Sept 2026, 01:23:00 (Asia/Tokyo)
- Epicentre
- 37.700° N, 141.800° E
Circles show this event and others within 30 km from 7 days before to 30 days after. Lines: plate boundaries and GEM active faults. Open on the live map
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Est. shaking |
|---|---|---|
| Minami-SōmaFukushima, Japan · pop. 59,005 | 73 km | INot felt |
| NamieFukushima, Japan · pop. 21,866 | 75 km | INot felt |
| SōmaFukushima, Japan · pop. 34,865 | 77 km | INot felt |
| WatariMiyagi, Japan · pop. 33,459 | 91 km | INot felt |
| SendaiMiyagi, Japan · pop. 1,096,704 | 103 km | INot felt |
| IwakiFukushima, Japan · pop. 357,309 | 109 km | INot felt |
| FukushimaJapan · pop. 294,237 | 117 km | INot felt |
| KōriyamaFukushima, Japan · pop. 327,692 | 130 km | INot felt |
Shaking is an estimate from the intensity prediction equation of Allen, Wald & Worden (2012), not an observation. Local ground and buildings can change it by a level or more.
Every agency's solution
Agencies locate earthquakes with their own stations and methods, so their numbers differ. We match reports of the same event by time, distance and magnitude and show them side by side. The headline uses JMA.
| Agency | Magnitude | Depth | Epicentre | Time offset | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JMAheadlineJMA via Japan Meteorological Agency | 3.8 Mj | 50 km | 37.70° N, 141.80° E | – | Automatic |
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How big was it?
Often felt by people at rest close to the epicentre, rarely causes damage.
It released roughly the energy of 7.6 t of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step means about 32 times more energy and 10 times larger waves on a seismogram. Depth matters too: at 50 km this was a shallow earthquake, which is felt more strongly at the surface than a deeper one of the same size.
M3.8 releases about 32× the energy of M2.8, and its waves are about 10× taller on a seismogram. Energy: 7.6 t of TNT vs 239 kg of TNT.
Each square is the energy of one M2.8. Energy from log₁₀E = 1.5M + 4.8.
Aftershocks and nearby activity
2 later earthquakes within 30 km; the largest was M4.3 14 days ago. Aftershock rates usually fall off roughly in proportion to 1/time.
Mainshock M3.8
2 later earthquakes nearby. Aftershock rates typically fall off roughly as 1/time (Omori's law).
| Time after mainshock (hours) | Magnitude | Depth (km) |
|---|---|---|
| 17.00 | 3.8 | 50 |
| 258.62 | 4.3 | 50 |
Did you feel it?
Reports from people help show where shaking was strong. They are anonymous and shown here in aggregate.
Reports close 14 days after an earthquake.
Reports on SeismoAtlas
No reports yet.
Event id jma20260904012316. First recorded here 28 Sept 2026, 17:32:06 UTC. Solutions: JMA (jma:20260904012316). Cite as: SeismoAtlas, “M3.8 earthquake 73 km E of Minami-Sōma, Fukushima, Japan”, https://seismoatlas.com/earthquake/jma20260904012316-m3-8-earthquake-73-km-e-of-minami-soma-fukushima-japan, data from JMA.
JSON: /api/v1/events/jma20260904012316. SeismoAtlas is not an official warning service.