Today, August 8, 2024, Japan shook with two strong earthquakes very close together off the east coast ofKyushu Islandin the south of the country: according to the USGS, the first shock (depth 29 km) at 9.42 Italian time (16.42 local time) was magnitude 6.9while the second one (depth 20 km) at 9.43 was more intense and recorded magnitude 7.1also confirmed by preliminary estimates of the JMA, the Japanese meteorological agency. The closest cities are Miyazaki And NinchianThe USGS recorded a third, smaller quake of magnitude 4.8 at 10:35 a.m. Italian time.
Since these were two earthquakes with their epicentres at sea, at the moment no injuries or casualties were reportedbut the tremors were clearly felt and caused much fear among the population.
The JMA also triggered thetsunami warning along the southeastern coast of Kyushu and along the coast of Shikoku, an island located to the north of Kyushu. The prefectures of Ehime, Kochi, Oita, Miyazaki, Kagoshima and the regions of Tanegashima and Yakushima are affected. Specifically, it is a lower level alarmwhich the Japanese meteorological agency issues in anticipation of waves of up to one meter, and requires people to leave the water and move away from the affected coasts. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center of the NOAA has also issued a tsunami alert message for the southeastern coasts of Japan. At the moment, however, the risk seems to have been averted since no abnormal waves have occurred on the coasts affected by the alert.
