TOKYO: Japan has lifted a tsunami advisory issued after an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.9 hit the country’s northeastern region on Friday (Dec 12), the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.
The JMA earlier put the earthquake’s preliminary magnitude at 6.7.
The quake struck at 11.44am (10.44am, Singapore time) off the coast of Aomori prefecture with a depth of 20km, after a bigger 7.5-magnitude earthquake hit the same region late on Monday.
Two 20cm waves had so far been recorded, one in the town of Erimo on the main northern island of Hokkaido at 12.35pm, and another three minutes later in the Aomori region, the agency said.
Broadcaster NHK said there was no obvious change at either of the ports.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) also said that the quake measured 6.7 and was 130km off the city of Kuji in Iwate prefecture on the main island of Honshu.
After Monday’s earthquake, which injured at least 50 people, the government issued a special advisory warning residents across a wide area, from Hokkaido in the north to Chiba, east of Tokyo, to be on alert for an increased possibility of a powerful earthquake hitting again within a week.
The tremor on Friday measured 4 on Japan’s 1-7 seismic intensity scale.
NHK said that the level of shaking was less than the bigger 7.5 tremor late on Monday, which knocked items off shelves, tore apart roads, smashed windows and triggered tsunami waves of up to 70cm.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority said on Friday there were no immediate signs of abnormalities at the region’s nuclear facilities.
Source: CNA
