Kyushu/Tokyo, 13 January 2024: A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck southwestern Japan on Monday night with authorities issuing tsunami advisories for Miyazaki Prefecture on Kyushu Island and the nearby Kochi Prefecture.
The Japan Meteorological Agency, reporting the quake at 9:19 p.m. local time, urged residents to avoid coastal areas due to tsunami threats.
Public broadcaster NHK said that a 1-meter-high tsunami was expected to make landfall within 30 minutes with water levels at Miyazaki Port rising by 20 cm (0.7 feet).
Coastal residents in Kochi were advised to evacuate as a precaution, according to media reports.
The earthquake, originating 30 km below the surface, shook a wide area across Kyushu.
Despite the tremors, no immediate damage or power outages were reported.
“Traffic moved smoothly, and streetlights remained operational,” NHK footage showed, reflecting an unbroken power supply.
Nuclear safety officials confirmed there were no abnormalities at monitoring posts near nuclear facilities in the region.
Japan uses nuclear power as a part of its energy mix. It has multiple nuclear power plants across the country. Before the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, Japan relied heavily on nuclear energy, with nearly 30% of its electricity coming from nuclear power.
Japan is vulnerabe to earthquakes stems as it located along the Pacific Basin's Ring of Fire, a seismically active zone of volcanoes and fault lines.