In a dramatic turn of events, Japan was hit by a 7.1 magnitude earthquake today, causing widespread concern. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the Japan earthquake today has signaled the arrival of tsunamis of up to one meter. The authorities said that some coastal areas of Kyushu and Shikoku islands have already received the arriving tsunamis. It should be noted that the official website of the USGS malfunctioned earlier today, as it showed two separate earthquakes today in Japan with 6.9 and 7.1 magnitudes, respectively.
Later, the website stated, “This event originally showed as two events in our event list. This error has been fixed. There was one event.” Regarding the tsunami occurrence today, the Japan Meteorological Agency, stated, “Tsunamis will strike repeatedly. Please do not enter the sea or approach the coast until the warning is lifted.” According to the USGS, Japan was struck by an earthquake today at 4:42 pm at a depth of 33 kilometers, about 29 kilometers southeast of Miyazaki on Kyushu.
It is pertinent to mention here that, citing the Japan earthquake today, the Japanese authorities have established a separate taskforce action team in order to cope with the prevailing situation and to reach the people to safer places in case of a severe situation. The Japan earthquake today has spurred waves of fear and worry throughout the country.
It should be noted that the location of Japan is actually responsible for the frequent quakes it receives. Japan has been positioned along the western edge of the ‘Pacific Ring of Fire’ making it the most tectonically active country in the region. Due to this fact, Japan has been successful in building giant structures with strong boundaries. This is the reason that, apart from such huge jolts of earthquakes, Japan still receives little to no damage to its infrastructure. On that note, emergency services are responding to the Japan earthquake today, which the USGS has measured at 7.1 magnitude.
