TOKYO — A powerful earthquake registering a preliminary magnitude of 7.1 struck Japan’s southern Kumamoto prefecture on Tuesday, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).
Following the tremor, the JMA issued a tsunami warning for waves expected to reach up to 1 meter, or about 3.28 feet, in height.
The Japanese government sent out emergency earthquake warnings covering seven prefectures across the southern Kyushu island region — Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Kagoshima, Fukuoka, Saga, Oita, and Miyazaki.
Japan sits along the so-called “Ring of Fire,” a zone of active volcanoes and oceanic trenches that partially surrounds the Pacific Basin. The country experiences a tremor at least every five minutes and is responsible for roughly 20% of all earthquakes worldwide measuring magnitude 6.0 or greater, making it one of the most seismically active nations on Earth.
Kyushu Electric Power reported no signs of any problems at its Sendai and Genkai nuclear power stations in the aftermath of the quake.
Meanwhile, rail operator JR Kyushu announced it had halted all train services in the region, including its high-speed Shinkansen lines, as a precautionary measure following the earthquake.
