Significant magnitude 5.4 quake hits 82 km east of Shikotan, Russia early afternoon

A magnitude 5.4 earthquake near Shikotan, Sakhalin Oblast, Russia, was reported only 12 minutes ago by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), considered one of the key international agencies that monitor seismic activity worldwide. The earthquake occurred at a moderately shallow depth of 31. km beneath the epicenter early afternoon on Sunday, December 21st, 2025, 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 the citizen-seismograph network of RaspberryShake, which listed it as a magnitude 5.4 earthquake as well. Other agencies reporting the same quake include France's Réseau National de Surveillance Sismique (RéNaSS) at magnitude 5.5, and the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) at magnitude 5.4.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused any significant damage, but was probably felt by many people as light vibration in the area of the epicenter.
Weak shaking might have been felt in Shikotan (pop. 2,100) located 82 km from the epicenter.
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: Dec 21, 2025 03:48 am (Universal Time) local time (21 Dec 2025 03:48 GMT)
Magnitude: 5.4
Depth: 31.00 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 43.65°N / 147.81°E (Sakhalin Oblast, Russia)
Primary data source: EMSC
https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/earthquake/news/290008/Significant-magnitude-54-quake-hits-82-km-east-of-Shikotan-Russia-early-afternoon-.html