Magnitude 7 earthquake hits off the coast of Japan, southeast of Sapporo

Earthquake off the coast of Japan

The USGS reports a magnitude 7 earthquake 112km southeast of Sapporo, Japan at a depth of 66 km.

For reference, the 2001 earthquake and tsunami was a 9.1 magnitude at a shallow 32 km and 72 km offshore but the first foreshocks were up to a 7.2 magnitude months earlier.

In short, a magnitude 7 earthquake would be absolutely devastating in the wrong spot. That was the size of the event in Haiti in 2010 that killed at least 100,000 people but Japan is built to handle them. Even then, this one is far off shore and deep.

It's 3 a.m. in Japan at the moment.

Update: The USGS map now shows the quake on the map. They have it listed at 6.7. My rule of thumb is that you need at least something in the high 7s to get a reaction in the yen but the depth and epicenter matters.

Update 2: No tsunami warning issued.