Strong 6.9-magnitude earthquake hits near Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan
A 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck the coast of Hokkaido, Japan, according to a US Geologic Survey (USGS) report Feb. 2.
Image/Computer Screen Shot
The strong tremor occurred at 11:17 pm (14:17 GMT) was marked 5 upper at Japan’s Meteorological Agency Seismic Intensity in several places in Hokkaido.
Japan’s Meteorological Agency (JMA) recorded the quake at a magnitude of 6.4.
RT. com reports that two nuclear power plants are in the affected area, Tomari and Higashidori, fortunately they are not reporting any abnormalities.
The JMA says there is no danger of a tsunami from the quake. No damage or injuries have been reported.
According to the Richter magnitude scale, an earthquake that registers at 6.0-6.9 is considered strong. It can be destructive in areas up to about 160 kilometers (99 mi) across in populated areas. There are only approximately 130 earthquakes of this magnitude seen annually across the globe.
Japan lies within the Pacific Ring of Fire, which causes the country to have frequent seismic and volcanic activity. Much larger numbers of earthquakes of smaller magnitude occur very regularly due to the meeting of major tectonic plates in the region.
