A moderately strong magnitude-6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of central Japan on Tuesday night, again rattling an area still traumatised by a devastating January jolt.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries and a tsunami alert was not issued.
The quake with a depth of 10 kilometres hit off the Noto Peninsula of central Japan at around 10:47 pm, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
“This earthquake may cause slight changes to sea levels along the coast of Japan, but there is no expectation of damage,” Japan’s Cabinet Office said on social media platform X.
No abnormality has been detected in a local nuclear power plant, public broadcaster NHK quoted nuclear regulation authorities as saying.
An NHK reporter stationed in central Japan’s Ishikawa region described feeling the vertical “thrust” when it happened, adding traffic lights near him remained standing.
Sitting on top of four major tectonic plates along the western edge of the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, Japan is one of the world’s most tectonically active countries.
The archipelago, home to around 125 million people, experiences around 1,500 jolts every year and accounts for around 18 per cent of the world’s earthquakes.
The vast majority are mild, although the damage they cause varies according to their location and the depth below the Earth’s surface at which they strike.
On New Year’s Day this year, over 400 people died after a massive earthquake hit the peninsula, including “quake-linked” deaths as well as those killed directly in the disaster.
The January 1 quake and its aftershocks toppled buildings, caused fires, and knocked out infrastructure at a time when families were celebrating the new year.
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