Japan issues tsunami warning after 6.1-magnitude earthquake and aftershocks hit Izu Islands

Residents asked to stay away from coasts and rivers as warnings in place for main Honshu island

Stuti Mishra
Thursday 05 October 2023 01:51 EDT
Comments
Japan: Typhoon Malakas Approaches Ogasawara Islands 2

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A tsunami advisory has been issued by the Japanese meteorological agency on Thursday after a 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck outlying islands in the Izu chain.

The forecaster warned of waves up to one metre in height for the islands which stretch to the south of Japan’s main island Honshu.

Small tsunami surges of up to 0.2 metres were forecast for Honshu itself, with the warning applying to a large area stretching from Chiba Prefecture around Tokyo in the east to Kagoshima Prefecture in the west.

A tiny tsunami of about 30 centimetres (1 foot) was observed in the Yaene area on the Hachijo island, the meteorological agency said.

While the alert issued was at the second lowest level of Japan’s four level warning system, residents were asked to stay away from coasts and river mouths, according to public broadcaster NHK.

The warning was prompted after a series of earthquakes, the strongest measuring 6.1, struck at around 11am local time with an epicentre in the Pacific Ocean, about 550km south of Tokyo. The strongest earthquake occurred at a depth of about 10km.

The islands of the Izu chain are uninhabited and located in a cluster about 580 km south of Tokyo.

Japan is one of the most earthquake-prone places on earth. A massive quake in 2011 caused a tsunami that destroyed huge swaths of northern Japan and caused a meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant.

Almost 20,000 people were killed in the series of disasters. The costs from the disasters totalled around £300bn.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in