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Japan Earthquake 6.1

August 1, 2011 by · Comments Off on Japan Earthquake 6.1 

Japan Earthquake 6.1Japan Earthquake 6.1, A strong earthquake shook the Suruga Bay, in eastern Japan late Monday afternoon, seismologists said, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

The earthquake of 6.1 magnitude at 11.58 pm local time (1458 GMT) was centered in Suruga Bay, about 32 kilometers (19 miles) south of Shizuoka, the capital city of Shizuoka Prefecture. It struck about 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) deep, making it a shallow earthquake, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).

The tremors with an intensity of 5 less on the Japanese scale of 0 to 7 earthquakes were felt in several areas near the coast, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. The United States Geological Survey (USGS), which measures the strength of the quake at 5.9 magnitudes on the Richter scale, it is estimated that about 740,000 people in the region may have felt a strong jolt.

Because of earthquakes with magnitude below 7 usually do not generate tsunamis, and neither JMA nor the Tsunami Warning Center issued a Pacific tsunami alert or warning. “Although it may be slight sea level changes in coastal regions, this earthquake has not caused damage in Japan,” said JMA.

Japan, which is in the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, is still recovering from a massive 9.0-magnitude earthquake that struck the northeastern coast of Japan on March 11, generating a large tsunami. The earthquake and resulting tsunami killed at least 15,597 people dead, while another 4980 are still missing and feared dead.

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