Shaken Ground: M4.2 Earthquake Strikes Mount Hakusan, Rattling Ishikawa and Gifu Regions

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, a magnitude 4.2 earthquake (preliminary report) occurred on Mount Hakusan at around 7.21pm yesterday, November 4 (Monday), with the epicenter slightly deeper near the summit, and it a magnitude 2 earthquake occurred in the city of Takayama, Gifu prefecture. A seismic intensity of 1 was observed in the city of Nanto, in the prefecture of Toyama, in the city of Komatsu, in the city of Hakusan and in the city of Nomi, in the Ishikawa Prefecture, and in Hida City and Shirakawa Village, Gifu Prefecture.

Since then, the number of earthquakes has increased and as of midnight on day 4 (Monday) 335 earthquakes, including tremors not perceptible by the body, were observed and 69 earthquakes as of 8 am on day 5 ( Tuesday) (all preliminary data).

Seismic activity has been active in this area from time to time and on November 29, 2017, 370 earthquakes were observed in one day.

On the other hand, no volcanic earthquakes or volcanic tremors with surface epicenters have been observed. The eruption forecast continues to be “Volcanic Alert Level 1, please note this is an active volcano.”

Hakusan sometimes experiences increased seismic activity. Please note that Mount Hakusan is an active volcano.

Mount Hakusan experiences periods of high seismic activity, with frequent earthquakes occurring more than 100 times per day for a few months to several years.

The most recent eruption occurred in 1659 and there are records of fumarolic activity in 1935.

» List of earthquake information

November 5 (Tuesday) 9:00 Announcement from the Japan Meteorological Agency

On Mount Hakusan, the number of earthquakes with slightly deeper epicenters near the summit has been increasing since 7.21pm yesterday (the 4th). Please note that Mount Hakusan is an active volcano.

**(Main text)**
1. State of volcanic activity
Around 7.21pm on Mount Hakusan yesterday (the 4th), an earthquake of magnitude 4.2 (preliminary) occurred with a slightly deeper epicenter near the summit and a maximum seismic intensity of 2 (Shokawa-cho, Takayama city ) has been observed. Subsequently the number of earthquakes increased and on the 4th 335 earthquakes were observed. As of 08:00 today (5th), there were 69 cases (all preliminary data), a decrease from yesterday. This region has occasionally experienced increased seismic activity.
No volcanic tremors or volcanic earthquakes with epicenters in very shallow areas have been observed.

2. Precautions for disaster prevention, etc.
Hakusan sometimes experiences increased seismic activity.
Keep in mind that this is an active volcano.

Epicenter distribution data: Japan Meteorological Agency

June 19, 2020 1.30pm Announcement from the Earthquake and Volcanology Department of the Japan Meteorological Agency