Alert in Japan: fear of imminent mega-earthquake after strong earthquake that shook it

MDZ Online

Tokio.-Japan’s meteorological agency said there was a higher than usual chance of a major earthquake hitting the country in the coming days after a 7.1-magnitude tremor struck the southern island of Kyushu.

Japan has long expected a major earthquake to occur along the Nankai Trough off its eastern coast.

Last year, researchers said there was a 60 percent chance that a magnitude 8 to 9 earthquake — even more devastating than the 2011 quake that struck off the country’s northeast coast and knocked out cooling systems at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant — would occur in the pit area within the next 20 years.

Following Thursday’s magnitude 7.1 earthquake, Japan’s meteorological agency convened a panel of experts to assess whether it could be linked to the long-awaited major disaster, dubbed the “Nankai Trough megaquake.”

Japan’s meteorological agency said on Thursday there was a higher-than-usual chance that a major earthquake could hit the country in the coming days, following a magnitude 7.1 tremor on the southern island of Kyushu. Japan’s meteorological agency said on Thursday there was a higher-than-usual chance that a major earthquake could hit the country in the coming days, following a magnitude 7.1 tremor on the southern island of Kyushu.

Experts warn that an earthquake between two tectonic plates converging along the Nankai megathrust fault, which runs from Kyushu north through Tokyo, could cause devastation.

It could extensively damage cities across Japan, potentially cause a tsunami and result in hundreds of thousands of deaths.

“The possibility of a large-scale earthquake occurring in the Nankai Trough area is relatively higher than usual,” the meteorological agency said in a statement Thursday night.

The risk of a magnitude 8 or higher earthquake occurring after a magnitude 7 quake is particularly high for about a week after the initial temblor, the agency said.

Japan’s meteorological agency issued a “cautionary” warning level on Thursday.

The next step would be a “watch,” which would advise residents to evacuate areas considered at risk of tsunamis.

The agency said it was the first time Japan had issued a “caution.”

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida urged people to make sure they were prepared at all times in case an earthquake struck and they had to evacuate.

The government is on high alert, he told reporters.

A tsunami warning was issued for coastal regions of Japan’s southern islands of Kyushu and Shikoku on Thursday morning following the 7.1-magnitude earthquake.

By late Thursday afternoon, the maximum recorded wave height reached about 40 centimeters off the coast of Miyazaki Prefecture in Kyushu.

There were some injuries, but no deaths, related to the earthquake.

Images showed strong tremors in buildings in Miyazaki prefecture, but damage in the area appeared to be minimal.

The quake struck less than 20 miles (32 kilometers) off the coast of Miyazaki, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Bullet train service has been temporarily suspended in Kyushu, and Miyazaki Airport has suspended takeoffs and landings to inspect runways for damage.

Both the bullet train and airport operations resumed later Thursday afternoon.

Kyushu Electric Power Co. said its nuclear power plants were operating normally.

Aside from the heightened possibility of a quake in the Nankai Trough, Japan’s meteorological agency has advised to be on alert for aftershocks of similar magnitude off the eastern coast of Miyazaki prefecture over the next week.

He noted that landslides could also be a risk if it rains in the coming days.