A 6.2-magnitude earthquake hit north-eastern Japan at around 19:23 local time on Sunday, 4 August, according to the national meteorological service.
M6.2 #quake offshore Fukushima and Miyagi. Lower 5 on Japanese scale. No tsunami warning. pic.twitter.com/bdyi8mTJ6S
— Yumi Asada (@yumi_asada) August 4, 2019
According to the meteorological agency, there is no risk of a tsunami at the moment. There have also not been any reports of casualties or damage caused by the tremor.
Earthquakes are a common occurrence in Japan, as it is located in one of the world's most seismically active areas. Nearly 20 percent of all the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater take place in Japan.
In March 2011, the Fukushima Prefecture was hit by a major 9.0-magnitude offshore earthquake that triggered a 46-foot tsunami, leading to the infamous accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The meltdown at three out of four units and hydrogen-air explosions, which were provoked by cooling system failures, led to the leakage of radioactive materials and the shutdown of the plant.
