Arab News Japan

TOKYO:  The Japanese Meteorological Agency said there is no concern about damage at the east coast of Japan from the powerful magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck off Mindanao island in the Philippines on Thursday at around 2:46 (Japan time).

The quake was at a depth of 65.6 km (40.76 miles), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said, with its epicentre in the Philippine Sea southeast of Davao City.

The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) said tsunami waves reaching 0.3 – 1 meters above the tide level are possible for some coasts of the Philippines. In comparison, tsunami waves under 0.3 meters are possible for Indonesia, Malaysia, Palau, and Yap.

Japan Meteorological Agency expected slight sea-level fluctuations in Miyagi, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Chiba, and at all of the east coast of the Japanese archipelago reaching the east southern  Miyazaki prefecture, eastern Kagoshima prefecture. However, the agency said there is no need to worry about damage.

The archipelago is regularly rocked by quakes due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, an arc of intense seismic activity that stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.