Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Two strong earthquakes occurred in and near Japan on Tuesday and Wednesday, prompting a tsunami warning for Okinawa.

An earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter Scale struck near Taiwan and Japan’s southernmost islands on Wednesday. Some buildings were reported to have collapsed in Taiwan.

The quake was less powerful in Japan’s southern islands – registering 4 on Japan’s seismic intensity scale – but a tsunami warning predicting waves of up to 3 meters was triggered.

A strong earthquake registering 6.1 on the Richter Scale struck northern Japan on Tuesday about 40 kilometers south of the city of Hachinohe.

The quake registered a seismic intensity of 5- on the Japanese scale (5 on a 10-point scale) and struck at a depth of 80 kilometers near areas that were devastated by a 9.2 earthquake and tsunami in 2011. There was no danger of a tsunami from Tuesday’s quake.

The quake was felt over a large area encompassing much of the eastern side of Honshu, Japan’s main island, and was felt mildly in Tokyo. Buildings near the epicenter suffered strong shaking and two women were reported injured in neighboring Aomori Prefecture after falling from their beds.

Following the quake, the government set up an information office at the crisis management center of the Prime Minister’s Office, standard procedure for earthquakes with a seismic intensity of at least 5.

The east coast of Japan has been hit by a series of earthquakes in recent weeks and the Japan Meteorological Agency has warned more may follow.