TOKYO (Reuters)
- Earthquakes rocked Tokyo and a chain of islands south of the
capital Friday, but there were no immediate reports of damage,
injuries or tidal wave warnings.
A moderate
quake measuring 4.0 on the Richter scale hit Tokyo just before
dawn at 4:53 a.m., shaking windows and startling residents out
of bed, officials said.
That tremor,
centered on the capital with a focus 25 miles below ground, was
followed by two moderately strong quakes centered on the Izu island
chain, about 85 miles south of Tokyo, the Meteorological Agency
said.
A quake at
11:01 a.m. struck the small islands of Shikenejima and Niijima,
measuring 5.7 and triggering a small landslide on Niijima, police
said.
Shortly after,
at 12:49 p.m., another quake measuring 4.9 shook Niijima and Kozushima.
Its epicenter was at a depth of 6 miles, meteorological officials
said.
Residents
were urged to remain calm and take care to avoid fires as a result
of the quake, which came during lunch breaks for many. They were
also warned of possible landslides.
The Izu island
chain has been hit by tens of thousands of earthquakes since the
end of June, when Oyama -- a volcano on the neighboring island
of Miyakejima -- began to rumble.
It subsequently
erupted several times, most recently on August 10.
Japan is one
of the world's most earthquake-prone regions, sitting atop the
juncture of three tectonic plates, or shifting pieces of the earth's
crust.
|
