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 country, country's Meteorological Agency said Monday. The public warnings to stay away from coastal areas were later lifted.
The agency initially gave the magnitude estimate at 6.9, but later revised it down. An official first told reporters the lowered magnitude was 6.7, but the agency then released a statement with the magnitude revised to 6.6.
There were no immediate reports of damage. Residents in some coastal areas were told to evacuate as a precautionary measure.
One man was slightly injured in Kyushu after falling down some stairs, NHK TV reported. Trains stopped running in Miyazaki Station, stranding passengers.
NHK said a tsunami, estimated to be as high as 3.2 feet, reached land within 30 minutes of the quake. The waters detected at Miyazaki Port measured 8 inches high, the reports said.
Tsunami advisories were issued for Miyazaki prefecture, where the quake was centered, in the southwestern island of Kyushu, as well as nearby Kochi prefecture in Shikoku island, shortly after the quake struck at 9:19 p.m. according to the agency. They were all called off shortly before midnight.
The U.S. Geological Survey revised its estimate down from 6.9, adding that "there is no tsunami threat from this earthquake" for the United States.
The JMA nevertheless urged the public to stay away from coastal waters. "Tsunami can strike repeatedly. Please do not enter the sea or go near coastal areas," the agency said on social media.
Agency official Shigeki Aoki told reporters that people should watch for landslides as well as falling objects in homes. Aftershocks are possible, especially in the next two or three days, he said.
The quake, centered at a depth of 18.6 miles, shook a wide area in Kyushu, the southwestern main island, Japan's Meteorological Agency said.
NHK TV footage showed moving traffic and well-lit streets, meaning that electric power was still working. No problems were detected at the various monitoring posts for nuclear plants in the area.
Japan is frequently hit by earthquakes due to its location along the "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.
Experts at the meteorological agency met late Monday to gauge how the latest temblor may be related to the so-called Nankai Trough quakes, but decided not to take any extraordinary measures for the time being. The term refers to a wide region believed to be prone to periodic major quakes.
A Nankai Trough quake off Shikoku in 1946 killed more than 1,300 people.
Last August, a powerful earthquake struck off southern Japan, causing mostly minor injuries but raising the level of concern over possible major quakes stemming from an undersea trough east of the coast.
An earthquake on Jan. 1, 2024 in Japan's north-central region of Noto left more than 240 people dead.
Japan has strict construction regulations intended to ensure buildings can withstand strong earthquakes, and routinely holds emergency drills to prepare for a major jolt.
But the country is haunted by the memory of a massive 9.0-magnitude undersea quake off northeastern Japan in March 2011, which triggered a tsunami that left around 18,500 people dead or missing.
The 2011 tsunami also sent three reactors into meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant, causing Japan's worst post-war disaster and the most serious nuclear accident since Chernobyl.
In March 2022, a 7.4-magnitude quake off the coast of Fukushima shook large areas of eastern Japan, killing three people.
The capital Tokyo was devastated by a huge earthquake just over a century ago in 1923.
Agence France-Presse contributed to this report.