Dozens more evacuate from southwestern Japan islands amid quakes
More people evacuated from small islands in southwestern Japan on Sunday as quakes continued to rattle the area, heading to the closest main island of Kyushu, Kyodo reports.
A total of 46 residents of Akuseki and Kodakara in the Tokara island chain boarded a ferry in the morning, local authorities said, the second batch of evacuees to leave for Kagoshima, following 13 residents of Akuseki who evacuated on Friday.
The evacuation left about 20 people on Akuseki and 40 on Kodakara.
The number of felt quakes detected in the Tokara island chain area has exceeded 1,300 since June 21. Evacuation of islanders began after a temblor on Thursday with a magnitude of 5.5 that measured lower 6 on the country's seismic intensity scale of 7.
On Sunday, two quakes with preliminary magnitudes of 4.8 and 5.4 occurred shortly after 2 p.m., jolting Akuseki Island, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. Both logged upper 5 on the intensity scale but no tsunami warning was issued.
Upper 5 is defined as a situation where many people find walking difficult.
The agency has warned that quakes as strong as lower 6 could occur in the area for some time.
The Tokara island chain between Yakushima and Amami-Oshima islands is situated along the Ryukyu Trench, where the Philippine Sea Plate is subducted beneath the Eurasian Plate.
While the area is known for being seismically active, some experts have said the latest situation is unusual as quakes in the region generally subside in around 10 days.