Strong Quake Jolts Japan

Map of Japan

A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.1 jolted central and eastern Japan on Monday, but it did not issue a tsunami alert.

Series of earthquakes keep jolting the earth! Two weeks ago we wrote about quake that hit Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan.


The quake, which occurred at 11:58 p.m. (10:58 a.m. EDT), was also felt in Tokyo. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

The focus of the tremor was 20 km (12 miles) below the surface of the earth, off the coast of Shizuoka prefecture, about 200 km west of Tokyo, the Meteorological Agency said.

All reactors at Chubu Electric Power's Hamaoka nuclear power plant in Shizuoka are shut after Prime Minister Naoto Kan called for its closure, citing research showing that the area is at particularly high risk for a major earthquake within the next few decades.

No abnormalities have been reported from the Hamaoka plant, public broadcaster NHK reported, citing the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.

This is another strong earthquake that jolted Japan after the destructive quake hit on March 11.
It was one of the most powerful and massive earthquakes in the last years.
An earthquake with magnitute around 9 (Richter) jolted the east cost of Japan, causing great damages, triggering an enormous tsunami and killing hundreds. This earthquake will be remembered as the most destructive quake in Japan's history. Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant was badly damaged after the earthquake, followed by the tsunami. 

This series of massive quakes changed so many lives.

We are with you Japan! Stay strong!

Earthquake 6,2 Richter Hit Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan

An earthquake measuring 6.2 rocked south-western Kyrgyzstan and eastern Uzbekistan early today, triggering panic in the region, seismologists and witnesses said.

The quake hit in the middle of the night at 1:35am (local time) shaking the region some 400 kilometres south-west of the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek, with the epicentre 42 kilometres south-west of the Uzbek town of Fergana, the US Geological Survey said.

"We were woken up by a noise and strong jolts which lasted for about 40 seconds. The house began to shake," said Albek Seitov, a resident of the Kyrgyz town of Och in the Fergana Valley.

"I thought it was a dream, a nightmare. I went out in the street like my neighbours. Everyone is afraid, panicking," he said.

The quake struck the border region at a depth of just 9.2 kilometres, rocking Fergana which has some 200,000 residents.

"The people were scared and went out onto the streets. It lasted for a few seconds. There are cracks on the ceiling and the paint has started to fall off in my home," said Abdullah, who did not want to give his family name.

Another Fergana resident, Sukhrob, said the tremors had stopped, but people were frightened of returning home.

"I haven't seen houses destroyed. But the people are still outside, they're afraid of going home," he said.

The earthquake centres in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan could not be contacted early on Wednesday and there were no immediate reports of victims or serious damage to property.

The Fergana Valley is an area shared uneasily by Kyrgyz, Tajik and Uzbek ethnic groups and the scene of periodic violence and unrest since the 1991 Soviet collapse.