A strong and shallow earthquake, M6.4, occurred off the east coast of Honshu at 20:39 UTC on April 19, 2020 (05:39 LT, April 20) at a depth of 50 km.
The epicenter was located 33.8 km from the city of Ofunato (population 35 418 people), 43.2 km from the city of Kamaishi (population 43 107 people), 51.8 km from the city of Otsuchi (population 16 497 people) and 61.9 km from the city of Yamada (population 20,144 people), Japan.
1,150,000 people live within a radius of 100 km.
This earthquake does not pose a tsunami hazard, JMA said.
According to the USGS, an estimated 180,000 people experienced moderate shaking and 3,100,000 weak.
In general, the population of this region lives in structures that are resistant to earthquakes, although there are vulnerable structures.
Recent earthquakes in the area have triggered secondary hazards such as landslides and fires that could have resulted in losses.