A 6.6-magnitude earthquake in the western Pacific Ocean late Thursday sent tsunami waves at least 30cm high off the Izu Islands.
The quake struck near Torishima in the Izu chain at a depth of 10 kilometers at 11 a.m. The weather agency issued a tsunami advisory and initially predicted waves of up to 1 meter for the remote chain of islands south of Tokyo.
The advice has since been cancelled.
People in coastal areas and near river mouths have been advised to retreat to higher ground.
“A 1 meter wave may not seem significant. But facing such a wave is very dangerous and it can sweep you off your feet,” a Meteorological Agency representative told a news conference.
The tsunami was originally predicted to hit the Izu Islands at various times, including at 11:50 a.m. at Hachijo-jima and at noon at Izu Oshima. A 30 cm tsunami was reported at Hachijo-jima (Yane) at 12:17 p.m., although the agency said it may have been higher elsewhere.
The Meteorological Department has warned that there is a 10% to 20% chance of an earthquake of similar magnitude. The public has been asked to be vigilant for the next one week.
According to the agency, seismic activity was observed throughout the past week in the same region of the western Pacific Ocean, starting Monday and ending with Thursday morning’s quake. Other earthquakes above the Richter scale were also observed in recent days.
So far, there has been no unusual volcanic activity as a result of Jupiter’s earthquake, although cloud cover makes this difficult to confirm. Over the past week, aerial observations by the Japan Coast Guard have also shown no unusual activity.
A similar-sized earthquake occurred near Torishima Island in 2006, causing a 16 cm tsunami to reach Miyake-jima. This is the first time a tsunami warning has been issued for the Izu Islands 2022 Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcanic eruption and tsunami.
