Strong earthquake hits southwestern Japan, triggering temporary tsunami alerts

Japan issued a tsunami advisory after a magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck the southwest of the nation, nation’s Meteorological Company mentioned Monday. The general public warnings to avoid coastal areas have been later lifted.

The company initially gave the magnitude estimate at 6.9, however later revised it down. An official first instructed reporters the lowered magnitude was 6.7, however the company then launched an announcement with the magnitude revised to six.6.

There have been no speedy reviews of injury. Residents in some coastal areas have been instructed to evacuate as a precautionary measure.  

One man was barely injured in Kyushu after falling down some stairs, NHK TV reported. Trains stopped operating in Miyazaki Station, stranding passengers.

NHK mentioned a tsunami, estimated to be as excessive as 3.2 toes, reached land inside half-hour of the quake. The waters detected at Miyazaki Port measured 8 inches excessive, the reviews mentioned.

Tsunami advisories have been issued for Miyazaki prefecture, the place the quake was centered, within the southwestern island of Kyushu, in addition to close by Kochi prefecture in Shikoku island, shortly after the quake struck at 9:19 p.m. based on the company. They have been all known as off shortly earlier than midnight.

The U.S. Geological Survey revised its estimate down from 6.9, including that “there isn’t any tsunami menace from this earthquake” for the USA.

The JMA nonetheless urged the general public to avoid coastal waters. “Tsunami can strike repeatedly. Please don’t enter the ocean or go close to coastal areas,” the company mentioned on social media.

Company official Shigeki Aoki instructed reporters that individuals ought to look ahead to landslides in addition to falling objects in houses. Aftershocks are potential, particularly within the subsequent two or three days, he mentioned.

The quake, centered at a depth of 18.6 miles, shook a large space in Kyushu, the southwestern predominant island, Japan’s Meteorological Company mentioned.

NHK TV footage confirmed transferring visitors and well-lit streets, that means that electrical energy was nonetheless working. No issues have been detected on the varied monitoring posts for nuclear crops within the space.

Japan is steadily hit by earthquakes as a consequence of its location alongside the “Ring of Hearth,” an arc of volcanoes and fault traces within the Pacific Basin.

Specialists on the meteorological company met late Monday to gauge how the most recent temblor could also be associated to the so-called Nankai Trough quakes, however determined to not take any extraordinary measures in the meanwhile. The time period refers to a large area believed to be susceptible to periodic main quakes.

A Nankai Trough quake off Shikoku in 1946 killed greater than 1,300 individuals.

Final August, a robust earthquake struck off southern Japan, inflicting largely minor accidents however elevating the extent of concern over potential main quakes stemming from an undersea trough east of the coast.

An earthquake on Jan. 1, 2024 in Japan’s north-central area of Noto left greater than 240 individuals useless.  

Japan has strict building laws meant to make sure buildings can face up to robust earthquakes, and routinely holds emergency drills to arrange for a significant jolt.

However the nation is haunted by the reminiscence of a large 9.0-magnitude undersea quake off northeastern Japan in March 2011, which triggered a tsunami that left round 18,500 individuals useless or lacking.

The 2011 tsunami additionally despatched three reactors into meltdown on the Fukushima nuclear plant, inflicting Japan’s worst post-war catastrophe and essentially the most critical nuclear accident since Chernobyl.

In March 2022, a 7.4-magnitude quake off the coast of Fukushima shook giant areas of jap Japan, killing three individuals.

The capital Tokyo was devastated by an enormous earthquake simply over a century in the past in 1923.

Agence France-Presse contributed to this report.