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Louise Thomas
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A powerful earthquake measuring magnitude 7.1 struck southwestern Japan, triggering tsunami warnings for a number of the country’s western islands.
The tremor occurred off the coast of Miyazaki Prefecture at 4.42pm local time (7.42am GMT), at a depth of about 18miles (29km), according to Japan’s meteorological agency.
Earlier Japan’s earthquake monitors said the magnitude was 6.9, before this was revised up to 7.1.
Officials have issued a tsunami advisory and residents in the coastal Kochi and Miyazaki prefectures are being asked to evacuate their homes as a precautionary measure until the warning is lifted.
Advisories rather than warnings are issued when the waves are not expected to exceed 1m (3.3ft), meaning they are relatively minor but still pose a risk.
Some unverified videos on social media show cars and small structures shaking with several shops sustaining damage.
Japanese broadcaster NHK said Miyazaki Port had reported a surge of 20 inches, the largest so far.
The Miyazaki police chief told the broadcaster that they were checking if there had been any structural damage to buildings, but that so far no damage had been reported.
The Japanese government has set up a special task force in response to the quakes, AFP reported, citing a a statement. There were no immediate signs of major damage, according to the agency.
Japan, one of the world’s most tectonically active countries, has strict building standards designed to ensure structures can withstand even the most powerful earthquakes.
The country records more earthquakes, around 1,500 every year, than any other.
In 2011 Japan recorded its biggest earthquake on record with a massive magnitude of 9.0. The quake’s epicentre was just off its northeast coast and it triggered a large tsunami that left around 18,500 people dead or missing.
The catastrophe also sent three reactors into meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant, causing Japan’s worst post-war disaster and the most serious nuclear accident since Chernobyl.
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