BREAKING:
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) August 9, 2024
Japan’s Meteorological Agency (JMA) has issued its first-ever “mega earthquake warning.”
People have been told to prepare for a scenario in which an 8-9 magnitude earthquake could strike off Japan’s coast.
The warning comes after 2 smaller earthquakes that scientists… pic.twitter.com/PPbq5ym0yy
Kyushu M7.1 #earthquake (Aug 8) aftermath: At least 16 people were injured, including two seriously, and three buildings in Kagoshima Prefecture were damaged, with one completely collapsed. This quake also triggered the first-ever alert for a potential megaquake along the Nankai… pic.twitter.com/4ADCqvQGbg
— Earthquake Forecasting Global - Quantectum (@QuantectumG) August 9, 2024
CNA published Aug 8, 2024: Authorities in Japan issue alert for "megaquake" after quake strikes Kyushu.
Metre-high waves are already slamming into shorelines in Japan's Kyushu and Shikoku islands, after an earthquake hit off the country's south. Authorities put regions on alert for a possible megaquake to follow. Michiyo Ishida reports from Tokyo.
NBC news published August 8, 2024: 'Megaquake' explained: Japan issues warning after 7.1-magnitude earthquake. NBC News' Dana Griffin reports on the significance of Japan issuing its first-ever 'megaquake' warning.
NBC News
written by Arata Yamamoto and Jennifer Jett
Thursday August 8, 2024
TOKYO — Japan issued its first warning Thursday about the possibility of a long-feared "megaquake" after a powerful 7.1-magnitude temblor struck off its southern coast, sparking a tsunami advisory but no immediate reports of serious damage or injuries.
The earthquake occurred off the coast of Miyazaki Prefecture on the main island of Kyushu at 4:42 p.m. local time (3:42 a.m. ET), at a depth of about 18 miles, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
Three people were reported injured, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said, although he added that there had been no blackouts or damage to the water or communications systems reported in the region. Police in Miyazaki Prefecture said there had been 10 reports of damage. Hayashi urged residents to stay away from the coastline.
Seismologists held an emergency meeting to analyze whether the quake had affected the nearby Nankai Trough — the source of past devastating earthquakes. The meteorological agency ultimately issued what it called a "mega earthquake caution," assessing that the possibility of a large quake was relatively higher than usual but not that one would definitely occur in the near future.
It urged the country's residents to practice increased vigilance for the next week.
"We ask all citizens to carefully check every new information issued by the government, reconfirm their daily earthquake preparedness, and be ready to evacuate immediately in the event of an earthquake," Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told a news briefing.
Earlier, officials issued a tsunami advisory following Thursday morning's quake, warning residents to immediately leave coastal areas of Kochi and Miyazaki prefectures until the warning is lifted. Advisories are issued when the waves are not expected to exceed 1 meter (3.3 feet).
Tsunami waves of up to 1.6 feet were detected along parts of Kyushu’s southern coast and the nearby island of Shikoku about a half hour after the quake struck. Japanese broadcaster NHK said Miyazaki Port had reported a surge of 20 inches.
That said, most of the damage so far has been relatively light. Police in Miyazaki Prefecture said there have been some reports of landslides and some traffic lights have stopped working. NHK said some windows were broken at the prefecture's airport and that the runway had been temporarily closed for checks.
Meanwhile, in neighboring Kagoshima Prefecture, concrete walls collapsed and a wooden house was damaged.
Of the people injured across the two prefectures, two are reported to be older women, who were taken to hospital after falling, while another was a female factory worker struck in the back by a falling object.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority said all 12 nuclear reactors on Kyushu and Shikoku remain safe. Earthquakes in areas with nuclear power plants have been a major concern since a massive 9.0-magnitude earthquake and ensuing tsunami triggered the Fukushima nuclear disaster in March 2011.
Japan sits on the Pacific 'Ring of Fire' — a line of seismic faults encircling the Pacific Ocean — and is one of the world’s most earthquake-prone countries. A temblor there Jan. 1 in Japan’s north-central region of Noto left more than 240 people dead.
I added this picture above to this post.
The Guardian, UK
written by Justin McCurry in Tokyo and agencies
Friday August 9, 2024
Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, has cancelled a visit to central Asia this weekend after experts warned that the risk of a “megaquake” occurring off the country’s Pacific coast had increased following Thursday’s magnitude 7.1 earthquake in the south-west.
Kishida, who is battling low approval ratings and faces challenges to his leadership in a ruling party presidential election next month, announced his decision at a press conference on Friday.
He had been due to hold a summit with the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in the Kazakh capital Astana on Friday evening and to meet the Mongolian president in Ulaanbaatar on Monday, according to the Kyodo news agency.
The Japan Meteorological Agency on Thursday issued its first-ever warning of the risk of a huge earthquake along the Pacific coast after a quake on the southernmost main island of Kyushu triggered a tsunami warning. No deaths or major damage have been reported.
The agency’s warning that the risk of a huge earthquake occurring along the Nankai Trough was higher than usual does not mean that a quake will definitely occur in the coming days. Public broadcaster NHK said Kishida’s overseas trip had been cancelled so that he could prepare for any eventuality.
The meteorological agency’s megaquake advisory warned that “if a major earthquake were to occur in the future, strong shaking and large tsunamis would be generated”.
It added: “The likelihood of a new major earthquake is higher than normal, but this is not an indication that a major earthquake will definitely occur during a specific period of time.”
The advisory concerns the Nankai Trough “subduction zone” between two tectonic plates in the Pacific Ocean, where massive earthquakes have hit in the past.
The 800-kilometre (500-mile) undersea trough runs from Shizuoka, west of Tokyo, to the southern tip of Kyushu and has been the site of destructive earthquakes of magnitude 8 or 9 every 100 to 200 years.
These so-called “megathrust quakes”, which often occur in pairs, have unleashed dangerous tsunamis along the southern coast of Japan, one of the world’s most seismically active countries.
In 1707, all segments of the Nankai Trough ruptured at once, unleashing an earthquake that remains the nation’s second-most powerful on record after the March 2011 earthquake along the north-east coast.
That quake triggered a tsunami that killed more than 18,000 people and led to a triple meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Although it is impossible to predict the precise timing of earthquakes – apart from automated warnings that a quake could occur within seconds – government experts believe there is a 70% to 80% chance of an megaquake measuring magnitude 8 or 9 happening around the trough in the next 30 years.
In the worst-case scenario, the disaster would kill 300,000 people, with some experts estimating a financial hit as high as $13tn.
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