6.3-magnitude earthquake hits central Japan
- The quake struck at 2:42 pm (0542 GMT) at a depth of 6 miles, officials reported
- It hit northern tip of Ishikawa Prefecture’s Noto Peninsula, 180 miles from Tokyo
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake has struck Japan’s central Ishikawa region.
The quake hit at 2:42 pm (0542 GMT) at a depth of 6 miles, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
No tsunami warning was issued, the country’s weather agency said.
The quake registered an upper six on the Japanese Shindo scale of up to seven near Suzu city, Ishikawa, prompting warnings it could cause major landslides.
Suzu is found on the northern tip of Ishikawa Prefecture’s Noto Peninsula on the Sea of Japan coast, which sits around 180 miles from Tokyo.
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake has struck near Japan ‘s Suzu city found in the central Ishikawa region. Suzu is found on the northern tip of Ishikawa Prefecture’s Noto Peninsula on the Sea of Japan coast, which sits around 180 miles from Tokyo
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno warned that further quakes of a similar strength could follow the initial quake.
Matsuno said the government had set up a disaster countermeasures office in a crisis management centre headed by the prime minister in response to the earthquake, adding that residents should watch out for further quakes.
Authorities were investigating reports of damaged buildings, according to The Japan Times. There were no initial reports of injuries.
‘We are checking damages to buildings and people after the earthquake in Ishikawa prefecture,’ Matsuno said.
Friday is a public holiday in Japan, part of a run of days off known as “Golden Week”, a time when many people travel for leisure or to visit family.
Shinkansen bullet trains were suspended between Nagano and Kanazawa, a popular tourist site, according to Japan Railway.
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings allayed fears of damage to the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in Niigata Prefecture, saying it was unscathed.
The US Geological Survey put the magnitude of the quake at 6.2.
Earthquakes are common in Japan.
The island nation sits on the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’, an arc of intense seismic activity that stretches through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin. As a result, Japan has strict construction regulations intended to ensure buildings can withstand strong quakes and routinely holds emergency drills to prepare for a major jolt.
A 6.9 magnitude quake struck a fishing village on the Noto peninsula in the same region in 2007, injuring hundreds and damaging more than 200 buildings.
The Noto peninsula is a rural area on the Sea of Japan coast known for its natural scenery and seafood.
The peninsula’s population is around 340,000, according to 2015 census data.
More than a decade later, Japan is haunted by the memory of a massive 2011 9.0-magnitude megathrust quake struck in the Pacific Ocean off Japan’s eastern coast – the fourth most powerful earthquake since record began.
The Tohoku earthquake – also known as the Great East Japan Earthquake – caused a tsunami with waves as high as 130feet that travelled at 435 miles per hour, and reached as far as six miles in-land, killing almost 20,000 people.
Earthquakes are common in Japan, which sits on the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’. In 2011, a massive 9.0-magnitude megathrust earthquake struck in the Pacific Ocean off Japan’s eastern coast causing a Tsunami (pictured) that devastated the region
It also caused the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster which saw three of the nuclear reactors suffer meltdowns and discharge radioactive water in Fukushima.
It was Japan’s worst post-war disaster and the world’s most serious nuclear accident since Chernobyl.
In March last year, a 7.4-magnitude quake off the coast of Fukushima shook large areas of eastern Japan, killing several people.
The capital Tokyo was devastated by a huge earthquake in 1923.
Source: Read Full Article