Powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake in Japan triggers tsunami warning

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A powerful earthquake struck off Japan’s southern coast, triggering a tsunami advisory, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said the quake registered a preliminary magnitude of 7.1 and was centred off the eastern coast of Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu at a depth of about 30km.

The agency said tsunami waves of up 50 centimetres were detected along parts of Kyushu’s southern coast and the nearby island of Shikoku about half an hour after the quake struck.

But authorities in Japan have now told that there is a risk of a rising sea level of one metre on the Pacific coast of the western islands of Kyushu and Shikoku.

"The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report. Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should have been felt by everybody in the area of the epicenter. In those areas, dangerous ground shaking occurred with the potential to inflict moderate to heavy damage to buildings and other infrastructure", Japan Meteorological Agency said.

Japan, located within the Pacific "ring of fire," is considered one of the most earthquake-prone regions globally.

The Asian island country accounts for about 20% of global quakes of magnitude 6.0 or greater, with seismometers recording an event every five minutes on average, forcing the country to invest greatly in making its infrastructure and its population quake-resistant.

On 11 March 2011, Japan suffered the most powerful earthquake. Dubbed the "Great East Japan Earthquake," with a magnitude of 9.1, it triggered powerful tsunami waves that may have reached heights of up to 40.5 metres. An earthquake on 1 January in Japan’s north-central region of Noto left more than 240 people dead.

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