PETALING JAYA: A strong earthquake has struck off the east coast of Honshu, Japan, on Sunday (Nov 9) afternoon but there is no tsunami threat to Malaysia, says the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia).
In a statement on Sunday (Nov 9), MetMalaysia said the earthquake occurred at 4.03pm (Malaysian time) with a magnitude of 6.5, located at 39.5° North and 143.3° East, about 181km east of Morioka, Japan, and at a depth of 10km.
“Based on our assessment, there is no tsunami threat to Malaysia,” the department said.
Earlier, the Associated Press reported that a powerful quake rattled northern Japan on Sunday evening, followed by several aftershocks, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
The agency issued a tsunami advisory for waves up to one metre along the northern coastal region.
A tsunami of about 10cm was observed at Ofunato city, Ominato port, Miyako and Kamaishi, rising as high as 20 centimetres in Kuji, national broadcaster NHK reported.
While bullet train services were briefly suspended and power shortages reported in parts of the region, there were no immediate reports of injuries, damage or irregularities at nuclear power plants, AP said.
Japan, which lies on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, is among the world’s most earthquake-prone nations and still bears memories of the devastating 2011 quake and tsunami that struck the same region.
