Strong quake hits southwestern Japan, no major damage reported
TOKYO, Jan 26, 2019, Kyodo. A magnitude 4.4 earthquake jolted Kumamoto and nearby prefectures in southwestern Japan on Saturday afternoon but there were no tsunami warnings or immediate reports of major damage, reported the Kyodo News.
The quake, which registered a lower 5 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in the town of Nagomi, occurred around 2:16 p.m. at a depth of around 10 kilometers, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
The temblor follows a M5.1 quake that struck the town and surrounding areas earlier this month with the Japanese intensity of lower 6.
“The shaking lasted only briefly. Nothing fell off the shelves,” a town official of Nagomi said.
The agency warned that quakes of similar intensity could occur in the area over the next week.
The temblor temporarily halted some shinkansen bullet train services in the region, causing a delay of up to 20 minutes, according to Kyushu Railway Co.
There were no abnormalities at the Genkai and Sendai nuclear power plants in nearby prefectures, said Kyushu Electric Power Co.
The central government set up an emergency task force at the prime minister’s office to check on any damage with local municipalities.
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