Strong quakes jolt southwestern Japan islands
A series of strong earthquakes struck the Tokara Islands in southwestern Japan on Wednesday, an area that has been shaken by repeated temblors for nearly two weeks, with no reports of damage or injuries, the weather agency said, Kyodo reports.
The Japan Meteorological Agency reported that a magnitude-5.5 earthquake occurred at 3:26 p.m., registering a lower 5 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 on Kodakara Island in Kagoshima Prefecture. No tsunami warning was issued.
The quake, which struck at a depth of around 10 kilometers, followed a magnitude-5.1 temblor that hit the area at 4:32 a.m. at a depth of around 16 km, registering a lower 5 on the intensity scale on Akuseki Island in the prefecture.
A quake measuring a lower 5, described by the agency as a level at which many people are frightened and feel the need to hold onto something stable, also hit the island, which has a population of 89, on Monday.
The area, near Yakushima Island and Amami-Oshima Island, has been hit by a series of quakes since June 21, with 865 quakes of a seismic intensity of at least 1 recorded by 9 a.m. Wednesday.
A local branch of the agency is urging people to remain cautious as a quake measuring around a lower 5 could hit the area again.
Earlier, it was reported that the earthquake has rocked Tajikistan.