Magnitude 6 Earthquake Strikes Off Coast Of Japan's Noda Region: USGS

An earthquake of 6-magnitude struck off the coast of Japan's eastern Noda region on Wednesday, the United States Geological Survey said. The quake was at a depth of 19.3 km, it said.
This comes weeks after a powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake shook the country's regions, injuring at least 30 people and forcing about 90,000 residents to evacuate their homes.

The December 8 earthquake struck off the coast and the Japan Meteorological Agency said a tsunami as high as 3 metres (10 feet) could hit the country's northeastern coast. Warnings were issued for the prefectures of Hokkaido, Aomori and Iwate, and tsunamis from 20 to 70 cm (7 to 27 inches) high were observed at several ports, JMA said.

Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries, with a tremor occurring at least every five minutes. Located in the "Ring of Fire" of volcanoes and oceanic trenches partly encircling the Pacific Basin, Japan accounts for about 20% of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6.0 or greater.

The northeastern region suffered one of the country's deadliest earthquakes on March 11, 2011, when a 9.0-magnitude tremor struck under the ocean off the coast of the northern city of Sendai. It was the most powerful ever recorded in Japan and set off a series of massive tsunami that devastated a wide swathe of the Pacific coastline and killed nearly 20,000 people.

from NDTV News- Special https://ift.tt/j9MCsEN