A 6.7 magnitude earthquake rattled northeastern Japan, triggering minor tsunami activity but causing no apparent damage on Friday, following a more powerful quake in the same area days earlier. The earthquake struck off the eastern coast of Aomori prefecture, located in the northern part of Honshu, the primary Japanese island. The event took place at a depth of 20 kilometers at 11:44 a.m. local time, as confirmed by the Japan Meteorological Agency. A tsunami advisory was issued but was later lifted after about two hours. Some small waves were observed in Hokkaido and Aomori prefectures, yet no significant harm or casualties were reported.
The recent earthquake followed a 7.5 magnitude tremor earlier in the week in the northern area, which resulted in injuries, minor damages, and a tsunami affecting coastal communities along the Pacific. The earlier quake on Monday caused injuries to at least 34 individuals off the Aomori coast, the northernmost prefecture on Honshu island. A tsunami exceeding 0.6 meters above tide levels was recorded at Kuji port in Iwate prefecture before all tsunami advisories were rescinded. While power outages affected hundreds of households, normalcy was mostly restored by Tuesday morning.
Authorities had cautioned about potential aftershocks following the Monday event and highlighted a heightened risk of a magnitude 8-level earthquake and potential tsunami along Japan’s northeastern coast from Chiba, east of Tokyo, to Hokkaido. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) advised residents in 182 municipalities in the vicinity to stay vigilant about emergency preparedness in the upcoming week, emphasizing that the alert was not a forecast of a major quake.
Both seismic events occurred in the coastal area, where the devastating magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami in 2011 claimed nearly 20,000 lives and led to the destruction of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.