At least 13 injured in 7.1 magnitude earthquake in Japan – Observer

At least 13 people were injured in Thursday’s 7.1-magnitude earthquake in southwestern Japan, authorities said Friday, warning of the possibility of strong aftershocks.

The Japanese Ministry of Interior and Communications’ Disaster Management Department said that as of 8:30 a.m. (00:30 in Lisbon), 13 people had been injured in the prefectures of Miyazaki, Kagoshima and Kumamoto, on the southern island of Kyushu, due to falls or being hit by objects.

In the city of Nichinan, in the Miyazaki region, the earthquake caused the roof of a gymnasium to collapse, which had been designated as an evacuation shelter and is expected to remain closed.

The earthquake occurred at 4:43 pm on Thursday (8:43 am on the same day in Lisbon) at a depth of 30 kilometers in the Hyuga Sea, off the coast of Miyazaki, according to data from the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).

JMA issues ‘tsunami’ warningwith a wave half a meter high hitting the Pacific coast in southwestern Japan.

Tsunami warning raised after two earthquakes measuring 6.9 and 7.1 hit Japan’s coast

Nuclear power plant operators have not reported any anomalies or damage in the reactors at the Sendai plant in Kagoshima and the Ikata plant in Ehime.

Experts have warned of the possibility of aftershocks in the coming days and the JMA warned that Thursday’s quake appears to be linked to a future larger earthquake on the Nankai fault, one of the world’s most active seismic hotspots and where a strong earthquake is expected to occur in the coming decades.

In response to the warning, JR Central Railways announced it will reduce the speed of trains on the Tokaido high-speed train line between Mishima and Mikawa.

The earthquake struck days before the start of the Buddhist Obon festival holiday period, celebrated this year from August 13 to 16, in honor of deceased ancestors.

Japan is located on the so-called “Ring of Fire” in the Pacific and experiences earthquakes relatively frequently, so its infrastructure is specially designed to withstand tremors.