A 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck southwest Japan on Tuesday afternoon, resulting in injuries and fires near the epicenter. Japan’s state broadcaster provided updates on the incident.
The earthquake occurred at 4:27 p.m. local time, leading to a tsunami warning from the U.S. National Weather Service. This warning was later lifted. The epicenter was near Uto, a coastal city in Kumamoto Prefecture, according to the United States Geological Survey. Initially, the quake was reported as 7.1 in magnitude before being revised down.
The public broadcaster NHK reported numerous injuries and fires across Kumamoto. Footage from the area displayed significant shaking in cities and smoke emanating from houses.
After the tremor, the National Weather Service’s Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu issued a tsunami warning just after 4:30 p.m. Japan time. However, the warning indicated no tsunami danger for Hawaii, the Pacific islands, or the West Coast. The tsunami threat had passed by 5:14 p.m. local time.
A decade ago, Kumamoto experienced a series of powerful earthquakes that claimed 278 lives in the prefecture and adjacent regions.
On Tuesday, the Japan Meteorological Agency initially issued a tsunami advisory for coastal areas near the Ariake and Yatsushiro Seas. The agency anticipated lifting the warning swiftly. It also cautioned about the possibility of similar scale earthquakes in the coming days.
For Kumamoto residents, this recent quake revives painful memories of the severe earthquakes they experienced ten years ago.
Photo Credit: Taro Karibe/Getty Images
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