The Japanese capital, Tokyo, and its environs were shaken on Thursday night by a strong earthquake that injured at least 32 people, but it did not pose a tsunami risk, Japanese media reported.
The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), which had initially estimated the magnitude of the earthquake at 6.1 magnitude, later clarified that it was 5.9 magnitude.
The earthquake shook buildings, temporarily halted some high-speed trains and subway traffic, and caused goods to fall off store shelves. The locals’ mobile phones sounded alarms, giving them time to reach the shelter.
Several hundred houses in Tokyo were left without electricity. Staff at the Tokyo Fire Department went to repair the broken plumbing pipes.
According to the JMA, the epicenter of the earthquake was in Chiba Prefecture east of Tokyo, while the hypocentre was 75 kilometers deep. No warning of a possible tsunami was issued.
The U.S. Geological Survey estimated the magnitude of the earthquake at 5.9 magnitude and reported that the hypocenter was at a depth of 61 kilometers.
This was one of the strongest earthquakes in Tokyo since the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami that claimed thousands of lives in March 2011 in Japan.
A 5.6 magnitude earthquake struck a depth of 114 kilometers in northwestern Myanmar on Friday morning. No casualties or damage have been reported.
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