RiskEvents
ClosedLow impactAI Generated

Magnitude 5.0 Earthquake Strikes Northern Inland Iwate Prefecture, Japan – May 2026

Occurred 14 May 2026·Detected 13 May 2026·
🇯🇵 Northern inland Iwate Prefecture, Japan — primary shaking in Morioka City, Hachimantai City, Kazumakicho, and Iwate-machi; secondary shaking in southern Aomori Prefecture municipalities2 reportsEnded 29 May 2026
Natural CatastrophePropertyMarine CargoEnergyCasualty & LiabilityReinsurance

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck the northern inland area of Iwate Prefecture, Japan at approximately 05:01 local time on 14 May 2026. The epicentre was at a depth of 10 kilometres. Seismic intensity of 4 (shindo 4) was recorded in Morioka City, Hachimantai City, Kazumakicho, and Iwate-machi, with shindo 3 felt across multiple municipalities in southern Aomori Prefecture and northern Iwate. No tsunami warning was issued.

AI-generated from linked source reports. See our correction policy.

Impact verdict

Low impact. A M5.0 earthquake at shindo 4 is moderate and may cause minor structural damage in the affected municipalities, but no tsunami was triggered and there are no reports of casualties or significant infrastructure damage. Insurance losses are expected to be limited.

View assessment methodology

How we grade what we know -- Known · Reported · Uncertain. Methodology →

Intelligence ledger

Each line expands in place to its underlying sourced claim.

Known6 lines

Magnitude 5.0 earthquake occurred at approximately 05:01 local time on 14 May 2026▾
structured lineknown
No separate sourced-claim record is available for this line yet.
Epicentre located in northern inland Iwate Prefecture (岩手県内陸北部)▾
structured lineknown
No separate sourced-claim record is available for this line yet.
Focal depth estimated at 10 kilometres▾
structured lineknown
No separate sourced-claim record is available for this line yet.
Shindo 4 recorded in Morioka City, Hachimantai City, Kazumakicho, and Iwate-machi▾
structured lineknown
No separate sourced-claim record is available for this line yet.
Shindo 3 recorded in Hachinohe City (Aomori), Sannohe-machi, Gonohe-machi, Takko-machi, Nanbu-machi, Hashikami-machi, Kuji City (Iwate), Ninohe City, Karumai-machi, Noda Village, Kunohe Village, and Ichinohe-machi▾
structured lineknown
No separate sourced-claim record is available for this line yet.
No tsunami warning issued▾
structured lineknown
No separate sourced-claim record is available for this line yet.

Reported1 line

NHK issued immediate earthquake alert coverage▾
structured linereported
No separate sourced-claim record is available for this line yet.

Uncertain2 lines

Extent of structural damage or casualties not reported in this article▾
structured lineuncertain
No separate sourced-claim record is available for this line yet.
Whether aftershocks have been recorded▾
structured lineuncertain
No separate sourced-claim record is available for this line yet.

Geographic Zone Matches

1 active match

  • Pacific Ring of Fire
    Rule-basedConfidence 100%

Geographic zone matches are RiskEvents spatial/analytical indicators, not coverage determinations or Lloyd's official classifications.

Affected countries

🇯🇵 Japan

Timeline

Status Change2 Jun 2026, 13:05

Lifecycle changed

monitoring → closed

Closure2 Jun 2026, 13:05

Event Closed

auto_closed_monitoring_timeout

Status Change29 May 2026, 05:30

Status changed to monitoring

Auto-transitioned: no updates for 6 hours

active → monitoring

Status Change28 May 2026, 22:36

Status changed to active

remediation: existing authoritative signal

signal → active

Corroboration13 May 2026, 21:10

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck the northern inland area of Iwate Prefecture, Japan at approximately 05:01 local time on 14 May 2026. The Japan Meteorological Agency reported a focal depth of 10 kilometres, with the epicentre in the northern inland area of Iwate Prefecture. Seismic intensity 4 was observed in Morioka City, Hachimantai City, Kazumakicho, and Iwate-machi, with intensity 3 to 1 felt across Tohoku and Hokkaido. No tsunami warning was issued.

Source: NHK News (Japanese) (Mainstream Media) · View source

Initial Detection13 May 2026, 20:20

Initial Detection

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck the northern inland area of Iwate Prefecture, Japan at approximately 05:01 local time on 14 May 2026. The epicentre was at a depth of 10 kilometres. Seismic intensity of 4 (shindo 4) was recorded in Morioka City, Hachimantai City, Kazumakicho, and Iwate-machi, with shindo 3 felt across multiple municipalities in southern Aomori Prefecture and northern Iwate. No tsunami warning was issued.

震源地は岩手県内陸北部で震源の深さは10キロ、地震の規模を示すマグニチュードは5.0と推定されます。▼震度4が、岩手県盛岡市、岩手県八幡平市、岩手県葛巻町、岩手県岩手町。

Source: NHK News (Japanese) (Mainstream Media) · View source

Lloyd's classifications

Tracking this kind of risk? Get an email when Natural Catastrophe events escalate.

Get alerts
← Back to live events