Tokyo – A strong earthquake struck off the southern coast of Japan on Thursday, triggering a tsunami warning and urging people to stay away from the coast. Nine people were injured, most of them slightly, but no serious damage was reported.
According to the Japanese Meteorological Agency, the quake had a magnitude of 7.1 and its centre was in the waters off the east coast of the southern main island of Kyushu at a depth of about 30 kilometres.
The earthquake struck the city of Nichinan and surrounding areas in Miyazaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu the most.
About half an hour after the quake, tsunami waves of up to 50 centimeters high were recorded on parts of the southern coast of Kyushu and the nearby island of Shikoku, the agency said. The tsunami warning was lifted for most coasts, with the exception of the coasts of Miyazaki Prefecture.
Seismologists at the agency held an emergency meeting to investigate whether the quake had affected the nearby Nankai Trough, the source of previous devastating earthquakes. They later issued an assessment that the potential for a future earthquake in the area from Kyushu to central Japan was higher than previously thought. The agency said it would continue to closely monitor the movements of plates near the Nankai Trough.
While this does not mean that there is an imminent danger of a major earthquake in the near future, they are calling on residents of the coasts along the approximately 500-kilometer-long low-pressure trough to review their earthquake preparedness, said seismologist Naoshi Hirata of the University of Tokyo, a member of an expert panel, at a joint press conference with representatives of the JMA.
There is a 70 to 80 percent chance that an earthquake of magnitude 8 or 9 will originate from the Nankai Trough within the next 30 years, Hirara said. Thursday’s quake increases that probability even more, although neither the time nor the exact location can be predicted.
According to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, nine people were injured in Thursday’s earthquake in Miyazaki and neighboring Kagoshima, most of them slightly when they fell or were hit by objects.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said authorities were assessing possible injuries or serious damage, but that nothing had been reported. He urged residents in the affected area to stay away from the coast.
Shigeki Aoki, an official at the JMA’s seismology department, warned that strong aftershocks could occur for about a week.
Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported that windows were smashed at Miyazaki Airport near the epicenter. The airport’s runway was temporarily closed for security checks.
NHK showed dozens of people gathered in a designated evacuation area on a hill.
In Osaki in neighboring Kagoshima Prefecture, concrete walls collapsed and a wooden house was damaged, but no injuries were reported.
The nuclear regulator said all 12 nuclear reactors on Kyushu and Shikoku remained safe, including three currently in operation.
Earthquakes in areas with nuclear power plants have been a major problem since a major earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 triggered the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
Located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a series of seismic faults that surround the Pacific Ocean, Japan is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world.
An earthquake on January 1 in the north-central region of Noto in Japan killed more than 240 people.
