Tokyo, August 24: A powerful earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale struck the North Pacific Ocean on Sunday evening. The tremors were widely felt across northern and eastern Japan. The earthquake occurred at 7:14 PM Indian Standard Time, with its epicenter located at a depth of 50 kilometers, at coordinates 41.826 degrees north latitude and 142.865 degrees east longitude.
Preliminary seismic data indicates that the epicenter was situated in the North Pacific Ocean, near Japan. Fortunately, no significant damage or tsunami warnings have been issued. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) and local authorities are closely monitoring the situation and gathering information from affected areas.
This earthquake comes at a time when Japan is still recovering from another powerful quake that struck early Sunday morning. A 5.9 magnitude earthquake hit Ibaraki Prefecture, injuring at least 37 individuals. Local media reports indicate that the injured include residents from Tokyo, Ibaraki, Kanagawa, and surrounding regions.
The Ibaraki quake caused several water pipelines to burst, leading to temporary flooding on some roads. Train services in the Kanto region were also disrupted for a time, but operations have since been gradually restored.
According to the JMA, the earlier earthquake had a depth of approximately 70 kilometers and registered a lower-5 on Japan’s seven-level seismic intensity scale in areas including Ibaraki, Saitama, Chiba, and Tokyo’s Adachi Ward. Such earthquakes often cause panic among residents, prompting them to seek shelter and resulting in items falling from shelves.
Many residents in Tokyo and nearby areas took to social media, expressing that they had not experienced such strong tremors in recent years. The tremors were felt across large parts of northeastern and central Japan.
The JMA has urged the public to remain vigilant for the next week, warning that similar intensity tremors may occur, particularly in the next two to three days.
Officials have confirmed that there were no abnormalities reported at the Tokai No. 2 nuclear power plant in Ibaraki or the Fukushima Daiichi and Fukushima Daini nuclear plants in northeastern Japan. All facilities are operating normally, with no reports of radiation or other emergencies.
Japan is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world, located in the ‘Ring of Fire’ in the Pacific Ocean, where multiple tectonic plates are active. This has led to the development of advanced warning systems and disaster management protocols to address earthquakes and tsunamis.
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