Tokyo.- A tsunami of up to half a metre hit the Pacific coast of southwestern Japan on Thursday after a strong 7.1 magnitude earthquake in the region, leaving at least two people slightly injured, while personal and material damages are still being assessed.
The quake occurred at 16:43 local time at a depth of 30 kilometres in the Hyuga Sea, off the coast of Miyazaki Prefecture on the southern island of Kyushu, according to details from the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), which activated a tsunami warning of up to one metre in areas close to the epicentre.
The first waves of the tsunami were detected at 17:01 in the port of the city of Nichinan, opposite the epicenter, where they reached 20 centimeters, later reaching 40 cm in the port of Aburatsu, in the same city.
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The highest tsunami, measuring half a metre, was recorded in the port of Miyazaki, while other tsunamis measuring 30 centimetres were recorded in the city of Tosashimizu, Kochi Prefecture, on the neighbouring island of Shikoku; in the port of Shibushi, in Kagoshima (Kyushu) and in the city of Minamiosumi, in the same province, among other locations, without any reports of damage due to the phenomenon so far.
About three hours after the earthquake, the tsunami warning was practically lifted in the affected areas, except for Miyazaki, where significant tidal changes continued to be observed.
The quake measured 6 or below on Japan’s seven-step earthquake scale, which measures surface shaking and its destructive potential, in the eastern prefecture, and 5 or below in neighboring Kagoshima.
Hours later, authorities were still assessing the extent of the damage caused by the earthquake, which has left at least two people injured, two women who were hit in the head and back by the tremor and suffered minor injuries, according to the most recent assessment provided by the Japanese public broadcaster NHK.
A rock slide and fallen power poles were reported in Nichinan town, causing traffic to be restricted on certain roads.
The quake has also halted local train lines in Miyazaki and Kagoshima, and sections of highways in the area have been closed for inspection. In the town of Osaki in Kagoshima, an old wooden house collapsed, with no injuries reported in the incident, and there were reports of collapsed walls and damaged roads.
In Kushima City, Miyazaki, authorities received reports of damaged and leaking pipes, and there could be further damage to other infrastructure as assessment continues.
Nuclear power plant operators in the region reported that no abnormalities or damage were detected at the reactors at the Sendai plant in Kagoshima and the Ikata plant in Ehime.
Residents of the affected areas took to social media to share images of merchandise scattered in shops and shelves overturned in homes due to the earthquake. It is expected that more information will be known about the extent of the damage in the coming hours, especially as daylight approaches.
Experts are warning of possible aftershocks in the coming days and the JMA has warned that today’s quake appears to be linked to a future, larger quake in the Nankai Trough, one of the world’s most seismically active spots and where they predict there will be a strong quake in the coming decades.
The agency has called for extreme caution and disaster prevention measures, considering that the possibility of a large-scale earthquake with its epicentre in the trench, which stretches from the Kanto area, where Tokyo is located, to Kyushu, is relatively higher than usual, the first time it has issued such a warning.
Japan sits on the so-called Ring of Fire, one of the most active seismic zones in the world, and experiences earthquakes relatively frequently, so its infrastructure is specially designed to withstand tremors.
