| Magnitude | 5.3 |
| Alert | Strong |
| Depth | 40.0 km |
| Coordinates | 36.356, 144.436 |
| UTC time | 1978-12-31 10:51:44.000 |
Earthquake details
Sunday, December 31, 1978 Earthquake
The earthquake hit Japan on Sunday, December 31, 1978 at 10:51 UTC with a magnitude of 5.3. The closest known location in the current dataset is Iwaki (Japan - JP), about 326.3 km away. The epicenter is located at longitude 144.436 and latitude 36.356.
| Location | Iwaki |
| Country | Japan (JP) |
| Severity | Strong |
Earthquake map 1978-12-31
Closest countries
The 12 closest cities near the epicenter.
| Iwaki | 326.3 km |
| Hasaki | 331.6 km |
| Kitaibaraki | 333.1 km |
| Minami-Sōma | 338.5 km |
| Hitachi | 339.9 km |
| Kamisu | 342.7 km |
| Kashima-shi | 343.5 km |
| Funaishikawa | 346.8 km |
| Asahi | 348.1 km |
| Hitachi-Naka | 349.7 km |
| Katsuta | 349.8 km |
| Sōma | 350.1 km |
Nearby earthquakes
The latest 8 earthquakes within 100 km of this epicenter.
|
M 4.7
Minami-Sōma
Japan · 2026-05-07 23:31 UTC
|
300.7 km |
|
M 4.3
Kōriyama
Japan · 2026-05-05 19:35 UTC
|
369.6 km |
|
M 4.1
Iwaki
Japan · 2026-04-05 17:28 UTC
|
267.4 km |
|
M 4.2
Iwaki
Japan · 2026-03-24 14:03 UTC
|
291.7 km |
|
M 4.5
Minami-Sōma
Japan · 2026-03-10 06:28 UTC
|
329.0 km |
|
M 4.3
Iwaki
Japan · 2026-02-15 08:28 UTC
|
252.5 km |
|
M 4.6
Iwaki
Japan · 2026-02-03 09:03 UTC
|
305.2 km |
|
M 4.3
Mito
Japan · 2026-01-30 18:47 UTC
|
335.5 km |
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