Significant 5.4 quake hits near Ofunato, Ōfunato-shi, Iwate, Japan
5.4 quake 20 Jan 2:48 pm (GMT +9)

An earthquake of magnitude 5.4 occurred only 18 minutes ago 35 km southeast of Ofunato, Japan, Japan's National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience (NIED) reported.
The quake hit at a moderately shallow depth of 46.3 km beneath the epicenter near Ofunato, Ōfunato-shi, Iwate, Japan, early afternoon on Friday, January 20th, 2023, at 2:48 pm local time. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
A second report was later issued by France's Réseau National de Surveillance Sismique (RéNaSS), which listed it as a magnitude 5.3 earthquake. Other agencies reporting the same quake include the citizen-seismograph network of RaspberryShake at magnitude 5.1, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) at magnitude 5.1, and the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) at magnitude 5.1.
Generally quakes of this magnitude are recorded by more than one agency and the results can vary, with subsequent reports that come in after the first one often showing more accuracy.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake was probably felt by many people in the area of the epicenter. It should not have caused significant damage, other than objects falling from shelves, broken windows, etc.
In Ofunato (pop. 35,400) located 35 km from the epicenter, and Kamaishi (pop. 43,100) 45 km away, the quake should have been felt as light shaking.
Weak shaking might have been felt in Ichinoseki (pop. 63,000) located 79 km from the epicenter, Mizusawa (pop. 61,300) 83 km away, Ishinomaki (pop. 117,200) 84 km away, Miyako (pop. 51,700) 84 km away, Kitakami (pop. 93,900) 91 km away, Hanamaki (pop. 73,100) 97 km away, and Sendai (pop. 1,063,100) 124 km away.
VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you’re in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.


Earthquake data:
Date & time: Jan 20, 2023 2:48 pm (GMT +9) local time (20 Jan 2023 05:48 GMT)
Magnitude: 5.0
Depth: 48.8 km
Epicenterlatitude / longitude: 38.93°N / 142.09°E (Japan)
Primary data source: USGS
https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/earthquake/news/202109/Significant-54-quake-hits-near-Ofunato-funato-shi-Iwate-Japan.html