Earthquake of magnitude 6.0 strikes Japan’s Kyushu

Earthquake of magnitude 6.0 strikes Japan’s Kyushu, the Japan Meteorological Agency said that the earthquake struck at 7.34 (local time) at a depth of 40km.

The earthquake comes days after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake flattened buildings across Myanmar, killing more than 2,800 people and making thousands more homeless.

On Monday, a report by the Japanese government said that a “megaquake” and subsequent tsunami could cause as many as 298,000 deaths in Japan and damage costing up to $2 trillion.

A “megaquake” refers to an extremely powerful earthquake, typically magnitude 8 or higher, capable of causing widespread destruction and potentially triggering a tsunami.

The updated figures revise a 2014 estimate that assessed the potential impact of a massive earthquake along the Nankai Trough, an 800-kilometer (500-mile) undersea trench stretching from Shizuoka, west of Tokyo, to the southern tip of Kyushu.

This trench is where the Philippine Sea tectonic plate is gradually subducted beneath the continental plate on which Japan rests. Over time, the plates become locked, accumulating energy that is eventually released in the form of major earthquakes.

In August last year, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) issued its first-ever “megaquake advisory” under post-2011 rules, following a magnitude 7.1 earthquake in southern Japan that injured 14 people.

Earlier in January of the same year, a massive earthquake struck Japan’s Noto Peninsula, killing at least 260 people, including 30 quake-related deaths.

Source: The Hindustan Times

--Agencies