Magnitude-6.6 earthquake shakes Japan and prompts tsunami warnings
A 6.6-magnitude earthquake has rattled the island of Kyushu in southwestern Japan, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre said Monday.
The EMSC said that the quake was at a depth of 37 kilometers (23 miles).
Shortly after the quake struck at 9:19 p.m. local time, the Japanese Meteorological Agency issued tsunami warnings for the Miyazaki prefecture, where the tremor was centered, and the nearby Kochi prefecture.
The agency said tsunami waves have already reached these prefectural coasts, with an estimated maximum height of 3.2 feet.
The extent of damage has not yet been determined.
Japan is located along the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin that make it a frequent target for earthquakes and seismic activity.
Last August, Japan’s meteorological agency warned that the country was at an increased risk of a major, once-in-a-century ‘megaquake.’ Worst-case scenarios predict that a wall of water potentially 100 feet high could strike along the Japanese coast, leaving more than 300,000 people dead.
