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
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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.
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“We are checking damages to buildings and people after the earthquake in Ishikawa prefecture,” Matsuno said.
Meanwhile, 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, which sits on the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’, an arc of intense seismic activity that stretches through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.
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
In 2011, a massive 9.0-magnitude megathrust earthquake 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. It travelled at 435 miles per hour and reached as far as six miles in-land, killing almost 20,000 people.
It also caused the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster which saw three of the nuclear reactors suffer meltdowns and discharge radioactive water in Fukushima.
This is a breaking news story. More to follow…
