Tokyo: A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.1 struck near Kumamoto Prefecture on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu late Tuesday afternoon, triggering emergency alerts and a tsunami advisory across multiple prefectures.
The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) reported that the quake struck at 4:27 p.m. local time at a shallow depth of approximately 10 kilometers (6 miles) beneath the seabed. The tremor registered up to a shindo 7—the maximum intensity level on the Japanese seismic scale—near the epicenter.
While there were no immediate reports of major casualties or widespread structural damage, emergency response teams and local officials are currently inspecting affected areas as aftershocks continue to be monitored.
