Japan Observes Tiny Tsunami After 6.7-Magnitude Quake
Japan reported on Sunday evening that small tsunami waves reached its northern Pacific coastline following an offshore earthquake registering a magnitude of 6.7.
The first wave arrived in Miyako, Iwate, at 5:37 p.m. (4:37 p.m. Singapore time). It was so minor that the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) stated it could not determine its height.
Two minutes later, a 10-centimeter wave was recorded in Ofunato, according to JMA reports. The earthquake struck around 5:03 p.m. in waters off Iwate, triggering an advisory for a potential tsunami of up to one meter high.
“A tsunami advisory has been issued for the Iwate coast,” the JMA said, cautioning that waves might arrive without warning.
The United States Geological Survey measured the tremor slightly higher, at magnitude 6.8. Aftershocks ranging between magnitudes 5.3 and 6.3 followed the main quake, JMA noted.
Live television coverage showed calm seas, even as the same area had experienced six smaller offshore quakes earlier in the day, ranging from magnitudes 4.8 to 5.8, which did not trigger tsunami alerts.
This region still lives under the shadow of the catastrophic 2011 undersea quake measuring 9.0, which generated a tsunami that left approximately 18,500 people dead or missing.
Author’s Summary
Small tsunami waves reached Japan’s Iwate coast after a 6.7 quake, prompting brief advisories but no serious damage, recalling memories of the 2011 disaster.