Digital Desk: A 6.6 magnitude earthquake struck southwestern and western Japan early Saturday, injuring more than ten people during heavy shaking,but no tsunami waves were created, according to the weather agency and local officials.
The epicentre of the tremor was located beneath the Pacific Ocean, near Japan's shore, where a large earthquake and tsunami are expected to strike in the future. However, the magnitude of Saturday's tremor was less than 6.8, which is the threshold for the government to convene an emergency expert meeting to assess an earthquake.
At a routine monthly meeting, the Japan Meteorological Agency said it would discuss if the recent quake was linked in any way to the one forecast.
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The 6.6 magnitude earthquake struck at 1:08 a.m. in Miyazaki and Oita prefectures on Japan's southwestern main island of Kyushu, with the epicenter at a depth of 45 kilometers and a magnitude of upper 5 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7, according to the agency.
Many people find it difficult to move at an intensity of higher 5, and walking without holding on to something firm is tough.
From an original assessment of 6.4, the agency raised the quake's magnitude to 6.6. It further stated that another quake of equal magnitude could strike hard-hit areas within the following week.
Following the large quake, many minor tremors struck the area randomly.
According to local administrations, six persons were hurt in Oita, the majority of them minor. Four people were injured in Miyazaki, including a woman in her 50s who fell out of bed.
On Kyushu, injuries were also recorded in the prefectures of Saga and Kumamoto.
Following the earthquake, Oita experienced a brief power loss. In addition, several water pipe ruptures have been reported in the city of Oita.
According to the Japanese government, a tsunami generated by a major trench-type earthquake along the Nankai Trough, which stretches from western to central Japan, may kill up to 320,000 people.
Over millennia, magnitude-8 class quakes have struck the Nankai Trough at regular intervals, with the government's Earthquake Research Committee predicting that a quake with a magnitude of 8.0 to 9.0 will strike within the next 40 years.
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