Japan releases its first ever’megaquake warning following 7.1-magnitude earthquake

by Arata Yamamoto, Jennifer Jett

08/08/2024

TOKYO — Japan issued its first warning Thursday about the possibility of a long-feared “megaquake” after a powerful 7.1-magnitude temblor struck off its southern coast, sparking a tsunami advisory but no immediate reports of serious damage or injuries.

The earthquake earthquake The ea r thquakeoccurred near the coast in Miyazaki Prefecture on the main island of Kyushu at 4:42 p.m. local time (3:42 a.m. ET) and with a maximum depth of approximately 18 miles, as per the Japan Meteorological Agency.

Three people were injured Three people were reported injured, the Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan Yoshimasa Hayashi said. However, he said that there have not been any blackouts or damages to communications or water systems that were reported in the region. Authorities from the Miyazaki Prefecture said there had been 10 reports of damages. Hayashi advised residents to stay clear of the coast.

Seismologists met in an emergency session to determine if the quake affected those living near the Nankai Trough — the cause of previous devastating earthquakes. The agency issued an “mega earthquake caution,” saying that the probability of a massive quake was more likely than normal but did not state that it would likely happen in the near future.

The government urged citizens to exercise greater vigilance over the coming week.

“We ask all citizens to carefully check every new information issued by the government, reconfirm their daily earthquake preparedness, and be ready to evacuate immediately in the event of an earthquake,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said at a press briefing.

Prior to that authorities released a tsunami alert after the quake that struck Thursday morning and urged residents to evacuate the coastal regions in Kochi as well as Miyazaki Prefectures, until advisory is lifted. Warnings are issued when waves aren’t predicted to be greater than 1 meters (3.3 feet).

Tsunami waves that could reach 1.6 feet were observed in Kyushu’s southern coastline and on the island nearby of Shikoku just a half-hour after the quake hit. Japanese broadcaster NHK announced that Miyazaki Port had reported a increase that was 20 inches.

However, the majority of the damage has been fairly light. Authorities within the Miyazaki Prefecture said there have been reports of land slides and traffic lights have not been working. NHK confirmed that several windows had been damaged at the airport in the prefecture, and that the runway was temporarily shut down for inspections.

While in the nearby Kagoshima Prefecture, walls of concrete collapsed, and a wooden structure was damaged.

In the case of those injured across both prefectures, two were reported to be elderly women who were admitted to hospitals following a fall, and the other was an industrial worker who was hit in the back by a falling object.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority said all 12 nuclear reactors in Kyushu and Shikoku are safe. The risk of earthquakes in areas that have nuclear power plants are an issue since a devastating 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami caused the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe in March of 2011.

Japan is situated on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” -which is a series of faults that form a ring around the Pacific Ocean -and is among the most earthquake-prone nations in the world. A earthquake that struck Japan on in January. 1in the north-central region of Noto caused more than 240 people dead.

Arata Yamamoto has reported from Tokyo as did Jennifer Jett reported from Hong Kong.

The Associated Press

and

David Hodari

They also contributed

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