About

The location tool compares your position with earthquake epicenters. It starts with the latest displayed earthquake and updates the approximate distance and green connecting line when you select another event. Clicking empty map space ends measurement; panning keeps it active. Distance is an orientation aid, not an estimate of shaking or safety.

Jishinwatch was conceived by Sean Crownover (maker of CutMyPic) as an educational tool for residents of Japan who want a clearer way to explore recent seismic activity. Coverage now also includes North America, Europe & Mediterranean, East & Southeast Asia, the Middle East, South America, Africa, and Australia & Oceania, selectable in Settings.

Many earthquake reporting sites provide valuable Japanese earthquake data, but they do not always present that information in a real-time, full-page map experience. Jishinwatch was created to make recent earthquake activity easier to view spatially, compare visually, and understand at a glance.

The timeline feature was designed to show earthquakes on the map in the same order they occurred, helping users see seismic events unfold as a sequence rather than as a static list.

Donate

Special thanks to the creators and maintainers of Leaflet, OpenStreetMap, and CARTO basemaps for the mapping tools and data, and to the creators of the P2PQuake API and the USGS GeoJSON feed and the EMSC SeismicPortal for providing accessible earthquake information for Japan, North America, Europe & Mediterranean, East & Southeast Asia, the Middle East, South America, Africa, and Australia & Oceania.

Japan mode also includes an animated wind layer powered by Open-Meteo. Special thanks to Open-Meteo and its weather-model providers for making forecast data accessible. Wind data is provided under CC BY 4.0; Jishinwatch interpolates it spatially and through time for visualization, with finer sampling near loaded active typhoons. Wind shares the Weather timeline with radar and lightning but is modelled forecast data, not observed wind or an official warning service.

We also thank the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) for typhoon, radar, lightning, tsunami and forecast information. Japan mode offers a location-based five-day regional forecast, starting tomorrow, with location permission requested when the forecast is opened. This is separate from the Open-Meteo wind visualization; neither replaces official forecasts or emergency guidance.

Earthquake markers can be hidden independently to keep the map clear when exploring weather. The event list stays available, and selecting an event restores the earthquake layer. Background updates respect a deliberately hidden layer.

This site is intended for education and awareness. For official warnings, advisories, and emergency guidance, always refer to the Japan Meteorological Agency and local authorities.

South America coverage

Select South America in Settings to load the past 30 days of USGS earthquake reports within 60°S–15°N and 95°W–25°W. This includes Chile, Peru, the Andes and a broad offshore margin, as well as nearby border areas. The regional window is not a country boundary. Location names are currently English-only and times remain JST. Sharing uses region=sa. Japan-only weather and tsunami features remain hidden; earthquake selection, playback and location tools work as in the other non-Japan regions.

Africa and Australia & Oceania

Africa covers 40°S–38°N, 25°W–65°E, including Madagascar and nearby waters. Australia & Oceania covers 55°S–30°N, from 110°E eastward across the date line to 120°W, including New Zealand and Pacific islands. Both use the past 30 days of USGS reports; smaller earthquakes may be missing. These broad windows overlap neighboring regions. Names are English-only, times are JST, and Japan-only weather and tsunami features remain hidden. Shared URLs use region=af and region=oc.

Middle East coverage

Choose Middle East in Settings for EMSC earthquake data covering 12–43°N and 25–65°E: Türkiye, the Levant, the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, Iran, and nearby waters and border areas. This view uses the past 30 days of available reports, without merging feeds. Location names remain in English and times are shown in JST. The earthquake list, timeline, location tools, and sharing work as in other regions; Japan-only features remain hidden. Regional boundaries intentionally overlap Europe & Mediterranean.

Region and data sources

In Settings, choose Japan, North America, Europe & Mediterranean, East & Southeast Asia, Middle East, South America, Africa, or Australia & Oceania independently of the interface language. Europe & Mediterranean uses the EMSC catalogue (25–72°N, 25°W–45°E, including nearby offshore areas). East & Southeast Asia uses USGS within 12°S–55°N, 73–150°E, including Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines, and nearby offshore and border areas. It does not merge feeds; the separate Japan view may show smaller events absent from USGS. East & Southeast Asia location names remain in English. Each non-Japan feed covers the past 30 days. Coverage of smaller earthquakes varies by country. The app loads separate earthquake datasets rather than merging them: Japan uses the P2PQuake API; the North America view uses the USGS GeoJSON feed. North America coverage includes Canada, the United States, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, Alaska, Hawaii, and nearby waters. Boundaries are broad geographic windows, not country borders. Times remain Japan Standard Time (JST) in every region.

North America quick views

Overview, Alaska, and Hawaii buttons reposition and zoom the map without filtering the earthquake list or timeline or changing the selected earthquake. On desktop they sit below the previous/next event controls; they are hidden on phones. These shortcuts are exclusive to the North America view.

Regional features and location names

When any non-Japan region is selected, earthquake marker location names are currently available only in English, even with the Japanese interface. North American event details link to the original USGS report; Japanese shindo and tsunami-status fields are not displayed. Japan-only typhoon, radar, lightning, wind, five-day forecast, and Weather timeline controls are hidden in every non-Japan region. North America, East & Southeast Asia, South America, Africa, and Australia & Oceania reports link to USGS; Europe & Mediterranean and Middle East reports link to EMSC. Returning to Japan restores its controls and saved layer/timeline choices. Automatic JMA tsunami coastlines are available only in Japan mode.

Sharing your region

Header and event share links include the region, map style, zoom, map center, supported weather-layer states, and selected earthquake when present. The shared map position takes priority over centering on the selected earthquake. Region selection is also remembered in this browser.

Version 1.3.1

日本語