A strong earthquake rattled Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido early Monday, according to US and Japanese meteorological agencies, marking the latest in a series of significant tremors in the region.
The 6.2-magnitude quake struck at 5:23 am (2123 GMT Sunday) in southern Hokkaido at a depth of 83 kilometres, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said, revising its initial estimate of 6.1.
No tsunami warning was issued, and the US Geological Survey said the risk of major damage or casualties was low due to the area’s relatively sparse population, located around 200 kilometres east of Sapporo.
However, a JMA official warned that areas which experienced strong shaking could face an increased risk of landslides and falling rocks.
Authorities also cautioned that aftershocks of similar magnitude could occur in the coming week.
The quake followed another tremor of magnitude 5.0 earlier in the day, recorded in the sea south of Hokkaido.
The latest seismic activity comes days after Japan’s meteorological agency warned of an elevated risk of a potential megaquake following a 7.7-magnitude earthquake off northern Iwate prefecture last week, which injured several people and triggered small tsunami waves.
Japan sits on one of the world’s most active seismic zones along the Pacific “Ring of Fire” and experiences frequent earthquakes, averaging around 1,500 annually.
The country continues to remain on high alert due to the risk of large-scale earthquakes, including memories of the devastating 2011 quake and tsunami that caused widespread destruction and nuclear disaster at Fukushima.