M5.3 earthquake near Tomakomai, Hokkaido

What happened

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 32 km E of Tomakomai, Japan on 5 Sept 2018, 18:17 UTC at a depth of 35 km.

Earthquakes of this size are classed as Moderate. Can damage poorly built structures close to the epicentre. This was a shallow earthquake, which tends to be felt more strongly at the surface.

The nearest town in our records is Tomakomai, about 33 km away in Hokkaido, Japan.