Earthquake Hits Off Coast of Japan Hours Ago

A major earthquake hit off the southern coast of Japan on February 7, causing unknown injury and damage according to FoxNews.com. Conflicting reports from the Japanese Meteorological Agency and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) report that the quake registered 6.6 and 6.4 respectively.

Striking at approximately 3:10 pm local on Sunday (1:10 am EST), the earthquake hit 70 miles off the coast of the small Japanese island of Miyakomina in the Ryuku Islands. Approximately 1,100 miles SW of Tokyo and at a depth of six miles, the earthquake spawned threat of severe tidal conditions, causing officials to publish tsunami warnings which were rescinded a short time later. Tremors were felt as far away as Taiwan.

Earthquakes are not uncommon in Asia, with Japan being reported as one of the most earthquake prone areas of the world. The USGS reports that earthquakes occur in Japanese coastal waters several times a year, usually resulting in minimal casualties and damage to the mainland. Five quakes registering between 6.6 and 7.1 on the Richter scale were experienced in 2009 with one death reported. Registering a magnitude of 6.9, the last major earthquake in Japan struck near the city of Kobe in 1995, killing over 5,000 residents.

The most recent recordable earthquake in the U.S. occurred at a depth of 15 miles on February 4 in the waters off the coast of California, 225 miles NW of Sacramento. No deaths or major injuries were reported from that quake, which measured 5.9 on the Richter scale.

The mention of the word earthquake brings fear to many in the wake of the recent devastation in Haiti. Medical resources and supplies from the U.S. and elsewhere are being deployed to Haiti as quickly as logistics will allow, and the possibility of a major earthquake bringing death and destruction to the densely populated country of Japan would be catastrophic. Early reports from Sunday's earthquake in Japan suggest that minimal damage and loss of life occurred as a result.

The largest recorded earthquake in the world occurred in Chile in 1960. That quake, measuring a massive 9.5, resulted in 1,600 deaths and 3,000 injuries, leaving over 2 million homeless. The resulting tsunami took 230 additional lives in Hawaii, Japan and the Philippines, and caused major damage to the west coast of the United States.

Sources:

www.FoxNews.com
www.Earthquake.usgs.gov