By YURI KAGEYAMA
TOKYO (AP) — A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.9 has hit southwestern Japan, the nation’s Meteorological Company mentioned Monday, whereas warning the general public to keep away from coastal areas due to a tsunami menace.
Tsunami advisories have been issued for Miyazaki Prefecture, the place the quake was centered, within the southwestern island of Kyushu, in addition to close by Kochi Prefecture, in Shikoku island, shortly after the quake struck at 9:19 p.m. native time, in keeping with the company.
There have been no speedy stories of harm. Residents in some coastal areas have been instructed to evacuate as a precautionary measure. One man was barely injured in Kyushu after falling down some stairs, NHK reported. Trains stopped working in Miyazaki Station, stranding passengers.
Public broadcaster NHK TV mentioned a tsunami, estimated to be as excessive as 1 meter (3.2 ft) excessive, reached land inside half-hour of the quake. The waters detected at Miyazaki Port measured 20 centimeters (0.7 ft) excessive, the stories mentioned.
The quake, centered at a depth of 30 kilometers (18.6 miles), shook a large space in Kyushu, the southwestern primary island, Japan’s Meteorological Company mentioned.
Japan is regularly hit by earthquakes due to its location alongside the “Ring of Hearth,” an arc of volcanoes and fault strains within the Pacific Basin.
NHK TV footage confirmed shifting visitors and well-lit streets, that means that electrical energy was nonetheless working. No issues have been detected on the varied monitoring posts for nuclear vegetation within the space.
Specialists on the meteorological company have been assembly late Monday to gauge how the newest temblor could also be associated to the so-called Nankai Trough quakes.
The time period refers to a large area believed to be susceptible to periodic main quakes. A Nankai Trough quake off Shikoku in 1946 killed greater than 1,300 folks. The world was hit by a 7.1 magnitude quake in August final 12 months.
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