A magnitude 6.6 earthquake, measuring a weak 6 on Japan’s seismic intensity scale, struck off the west coast of Shikoku island on Wednesday night.
There was no threat of a tsunami from the quake, which struck at 11:14 p.m., and initial reports suggested only minor injuries and damage.
The quake measured a weak 6 — the third highest level — in the Ehime Prefecture town of Ainan and the Kochi Prefecture city of Sukumo. Striking at a depth of 39 kilometers, its epicenter was in the Bungo Channel, a straight separating the islands of Kyushu and Shikoku.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, speaking a news conference shortly after 1 a.m. Thursday, said several light injuries had been reported. NHK reported minor damage in some ares, including broken water pipes, fallen streetlights, and a landslide on a national roadway.
Among the injured, a woman in Ainan in her 70s was taken to a hospital after collapsing, according to a local fire department.
In Sukumo, plans are underway to open 10 evacuation centers.
No abnormalities have been detected at Shikoku Electric Power’s Ikata Nuclear Plant in Ehime Prefecture, NHK reported.
The Meteorological Agency initially reported the quake as magnitude 6.4, but later revised the figure to 6.6.
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Information from Jiji added