7.1 magnitude earthquake hits southern Japan; tsunami advisory issued

Initially, the Japan Meteorological Agency said the earthquake registered a preliminary magnitude of 6.9, but it later upgraded the preliminary magnitude to 7.1. The quake was centered off the eastern coast of Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu at a depth of about 30 kilometers, the agency added.

The meteorological agency has predicted waves of up to 1 meter along the southern coast of Kyushu and nearby island of Shikoku.

20-centimetere high waves were observed in Miyazaki prefecture on Kyushu, news agency Reuters said, quoting NHK.

While nuclear plant operators on Kyushu and Shikoku are checking for any damages, the Sendai nuclear plant in Kagoshima prefecture said that no abnormalities have been detected and that operations will continue.

Japan’s location makes it prone to earthquakes, which result in tsunamis (or giant harbour waves). The island nation is situated along the ‘Pacific Ring of Fire’, the worlds’s most active earthquake tectonic belt. Within this Ring of Fire, there are several tectonic plates, including the Pacific Plate, Eurasian Plate, and Indo-Australian Plate, which keep meshing and colliding with each other, causing earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis.