The number of victims of a powerful earthquake near the Japanese island of Kyushu has risen to 13 people, the Kyodo agency reports, citing data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
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Nine casualties were previously reported.
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A powerful earthquake occurred off the southeastern coast of Kyushu on August 8 at 16.43 local time. The outbreak lay at a depth of 30 kilometers underwater in the Hyuga Nada Sea in the Pacific Ocean. The earthquake’s magnitude was initially determined to be 6.9, but then raised to 7.1. Tremors of up to magnitude five were felt in Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures. A tsunami warning was issued for the eastern coast of Kyushu and the western and southern coasts of Shikoku.
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The earthquake led to a temporary halt in the movement of high-speed trains. According to Japanese media reports, partial destruction of houses and rock collapses have been recorded in Kyushu.
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After the earthquake, Japan’s main meteorological agency issued a warning about the increased likelihood of a powerful earthquake on the Nankai Fault, which runs along the Pacific Ocean from Japan’s Shizuoka Prefecture to the islands of Shikoku and Kyushu.
