Earthquake today: 5.74 earthquake hits Hokkaido, Japan

Earthquake today: An earthquake measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale struck Hokkaido in Japan on Friday. The earthquake was at a depth of 10 km (6.21 miles), Reuters reported citing the German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ). So far there are no reports of any damage. No casualties or injuries have been reported so far. The whole country is in a very active seismic area, and they have the densest seismic network in the world, so they can record many earthquakes. Meanwhile, according to the National Center for Seismology (NCS), a magnitude 3.7 earthquake struck Pakistan and Afghanistan. According to the NCS, the earthquake struck at a shallow depth of 10 km, making it susceptible to aftershocks. In a post on X, NCS said: “EQ of M: 3.7, Op: 24/10/2025 10:14:26 IST, Lat: 36.64 N, Long: 72.77 E, Depth: 10 Km, Location: Pakistan.” Earlier, a magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck Afghanistan in the early hours of Tuesday. Also read | 6.1 Earthquake Hits Mindanao, Philippines The World Bank recently said in a statement that “earthquake that struck Afghanistan on August 31 caused an estimated $183 million in direct physical damage to buildings and infrastructure.” A few days ago, a mild 3.6 magnitude earthquake hit Tibet, as reported by the NCS. The NCS said on X, “EQ of M: 3.6, Op: 22/10/2025 12:46:10 IST, Lat: 28.16 N, Long: 87.63 E, Depth: 10 Km, Location: Tibet.” A day ago, another magnitude 4 earthquake struck parts of Tibet. The largest earthquakes in Tibet, with a magnitude of 8.0 or similar, occur along strike-slip faults. Normal strike-slip earthquakes are smaller in magnitude; in 2008, five normal strike earthquakes with magnitudes from 5.9 to 7.1 occurred at various locations across the plateau. Shallow earthquakes are typically more dangerous than deeper earthquakes because their seismic waves travel a shorter distance to the surface, causing stronger ground shaking. This can lead to more structural damage and higher casualties. The Tibetan Plateau, in particular, experiences significant seismic activity due to collisions between tectonic plates. (With agency input)