Japan urges evacuation of small island as 1,000 quakes hit region
TOKYO: Japanese authorities urged the 89 residents of a small southern island to evacuate after a strong earthquake on Thursday (July 3), the latest of more than 1,000 recent jolts to hit the area.
Residents were urged to evacuate to "a school playground in Akuseki Island", a municipal official told AFP.
Akuseki is part of the Tokara island chain south of Kyushu region, which has been rattled by 1,031 quakes since June 21.
No major damage has been reported.
After all residents were confirmed safe, the evacuation instruction was later lifted.
On Thursday, a 5.5 magnitude quake struck near Akuseki. The previous day a jolt of the same size was also recorded.
Seven of the 12 remote Tokara Islands are inhabited, with around 700 residents in total.
There was no tsunami risk from Thursday's quake, according to Ayataka Ebita, director of the earthquake and tsunami observation division of the Japan Meteorological Agency.
"In areas where the tremors were strong, there is an increased risk of collapsed houses and landslides," he told reporters.
"Please be aware of earthquakes of similar magnitude for the foreseeable future," he said.
A similar period of intense seismic activity in the Tokara area occurred in September 2023, when 346 earthquakes were recorded, according to the JMA.
Japan is one of the world's most seismically active countries, sitting on top of four major tectonic plates along the western edge of the Pacific "Ring of Fire".
The archipelago, home to around 125 million people, typically experiences around 1,500 jolts every year and accounts for about 18 percent of the world's earthquakes.
In 2011, a magnitude-9.0 quake triggered a tsunami that left 18,500 people dead or missing and caused a devastating meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant.
Quakes are extremely hard to predict, but in January a government panel marginally increased the probability of a major jolt in the Nankai Trough off Japan in the next 30 years to 75-82 percent.
The government then released a new estimate in March saying that such a "megaquake" and subsequent tsunami could cause as many as 298,000 deaths and damages of up to $2 trillion.
This week, the government released a report saying much more needed to be done to prepare for such a megaquake.
Some foreign tourists have held off coming to Japan due to unfounded fears fanned by social media that a major quake is imminent.
Causing particular concern is a manga comic reissued in 2021 which predicted a major disaster on July 5, 2025.
"We are aware that such tales are circulating, but that is a hoax," Ebita at the JMA said.
"With today's science and technology, it is not possible to predict earthquakes." - AFP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
2 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Ferry tragedy: Six dead including child, 29 still missing as Indonesian rescuers widen search
GILIMANUK, Indonesia: Hundreds of Indonesian rescuers widened their search for dozens of missing people Friday after a ferry sank in rough seas on the way to the resort island of Bali, with six bodies recovered. The ferry carrying at least 65 people, including passengers and crew, was making a five-kilometre (3.2-mile) crossing from eastern Java island to Bali when it tilted and sank in bad weather late Wednesday, witnesses and officials said. As of Friday evening, 29 people were still missing, national search and rescue operations official Ribut Eko Suyatno told reporters, confirming the death toll remained at six. He said rescuers confirmed a discrepancy in earlier figures where two survivors were considered to be one person due to similar names on the ferry's manifest. "30 people are safe... 29 people are currently being searched for," Ribut said, lowering the number of missing by one. Rescuers said one of the six found dead was a three-year-old boy. Tearful survivors described their horror when the ship went down, including one man who lost his wife. "I was joking around with my wife. And then... the ferry tilted. The accident was very fast," Febriani, who like many Indonesians has one name, told AFP late Thursday. "I resigned my fate... and asked God to save my wife. It turned out... my wife died but I survived," said the 27-year-old, welling up with tears. "I jumped with my wife. I managed to get back up but my wife slipped away." Rescuers carried out searches by sea and air on Friday, expanding their efforts along the coastlines of eastern Java and Bali, Ribut told reporters earlier Friday. "The land search rescue unit... we ask to comb through the Ketapang beach from north to south. Also likewise for Gilimanuk," he said. The ferry passage from Java's Ketapang port to Gilimanuk port on Bali – one of the busiest crossings in the country – takes around one hour and is often used by people travelling between the islands with a car. Local rescue officials said the KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya vessel sank 25 minutes into its journey. At least 306 rescuers were deployed Friday for the search effort, the Java-based Surabaya search and rescue agency said. The search for those missing will be suspended Friday evening and resume on Saturday, a Surabaya rescue officer told AFP. The search was temporarily halted overnight Thursday and resumed around 8am (0000 GMT) Friday in Bali. Rescuers had deployed inflatable boats, larger rescue vessels and a helicopter to aid the search on Thursday, made up of dozens of personnel, including navy and police officers. At least four survivors were found early on Thursday after saving themselves by climbing into the ferry's lifeboat. Initial search efforts were hampered by bad weather, with waves as high as 2.5 metres (8 feet) and strong winds. The ferry's manifest showed 53 passengers and 12 crew members but it is common in Indonesia for the actual number of passengers on a boat to differ from that document. Marine accidents are a regular occurrence in Indonesia, a Southeast Asian archipelago nation of around 17,000 islands, in part due to lax safety standards and sometimes due to bad weather. In March, a boat carrying 16 people capsized in rough waters off Bali, killing an Australian woman and injuring at least one other person. In 2018, more than 150 people drowned when a ferry sank in one of the world's deepest lakes on Sumatra island.--AFP
The Star
14 hours ago
- The Star
Japanese airlines to ban power banks in overhead compartments from July 8
From July 8, passengers on board all 23 Japan-based airlines must ensure their portable chargers are visible to cabin staff. - ST file TOKYO: Japan's transport ministry has announced that air passengers must keep their power banks in plain sight and not in overhead bins, local media reported this week. From July 8, passengers on board all 23 Japan-based airlines must ensure their portable chargers are visible to cabin staff, reported The Asahi Shimbun. Passengers may charge their devices only in locations where the condition of the power bank can be monitored by cabin crew, The Japan Times reported. Currently, the Japanese transport ministry prohibits passengers from checking in power banks. Batteries exceeding 160 watt-hour (Wh) are banned, while passengers may only bring on board two battery packs rated between 100Wh and 160Wh. The announcement by Japan is the latest in a series of similar moves by other airlines following a spate of in-flight cabin fires involving power banks. - The Straits Times/ANN
The Star
20 hours ago
- The Star
Ribbit! 'Frogging' is taking off in Sarawak's Kubah National Park
Dodging fire-ants, snakes and millions of nighttime creepy-crawlies, a group of trekkers advances through the humid Bornean rainforest, scanning with torches for some of the jungle's most unlikely stars: frogs. "There's another one! And it's massive," British tourist Lauren Heywood exclaimed as she spotted the telltale reflective glint off a pair of blinking eyes, seemingly waiting to be photographed by admirers. "Frogging", or the hunt for the exotic amphibians that call the rainforest home, is taking off in Sarawak. And herpetologists say few places rival Kubah National Park, around half an hour's drive from state capital Kuching. It is home to some of the world's smallest and most unusual frog species. A Torrent frog seen at Kubah National Park in Kuching. While many visitors flock to Borneo's jungle to see charismatic large species like orangutans or elephants, some of its tiniest residents are increasingly getting their turn in the spotlight, according to Kubah park ranger Muhammed Tajuddin. "More and more people are coming to see our frogs," he told AFP. Frog central The tour begins at dusk, with Indigenous Dayak guide Dominic Jikie leading a 45-minute hike up Mount Serapi, the highest peak in the area, to frog central. Here, surrounded by ancient jungle trees is a shallow pond around the size of two swimming pools. A Brown Marsh frog seen at Kubah National Park in Kuching. Scientists say it serves as the primary breeding ground for many of the 180 frog and toad species found on Borneo – the world's third-largest island, divided between Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. Dozens of species dot almost every surface, submerged in the torchlit water, or perched on leaves, branches or tree trunks, placid and unbothered by their human fans. British tourists Thom Harris and Lauren Heywood taking part in frogging activity at Kubah National Park in Kuching. "There is something special here," said Jikie, 64, a retired park ranger who now specialises as a frogging guide. "People come to the park because they don't have the species that we have here back at home." Among the stars of the show on this visit are pinkish harlequin flying frogs with mottled underbellies, file-eared tree frogs with distinctive sharp noses and white-lipped frogs whose lurid green backs give way to a stripe of white along their bottom jaw. One of Borneo's most famous species, the giant river toad nicknamed "frogzilla" for its dinner-plate size, is not seen in Kubah. But there are other more delicate types, according to Jikie. "We have one of the world's smallest frog species, that breed inside pitcher plants," he said, training his sharp spotlight on a pair of amphibian eyes just up the steep mountain road. A Copper-cheeked frog seen at Kubah National Park in Kuching. The Matang narrow-mouthed frog was officially described by Malaysian and German herpetologists in 2010 after its discovery in Kubah. It grows to a maximum of just 11 millimetres (less than half an inch) as an adult. British tourist Thom Harris and his fellow visitors spotted 11 species on their nighttime trek. "This was an amazing experience," he told AFP. "They are just stunning creatures." "There are a few fire ants and a few other things to be careful of – and a lot of bugs," he laughed. "But it's definitely worth it. And it's a lot of fun!" A Harlequin Tree frog seen at Kubah National Park in Kuching. 'I love nature' The rising popularity of the forest frogs is a chance for environmentalists to highlight the serious threats they face. Deforestation, climate change and overhunting are all putting pressure on the tropical island's frog population, scientists say. "Even slight changes in the temperature and climate may affect the survival of the frog species in a particular habitat," University of Malaysia, Sarawak researchers Nur Hidayah Zulkefli and Ramlah Zainudin wrote in 2022. Deforestation in Sarawak remains significant and ongoing, statistics by environmental group Global Forest Watch showed, including for timber and to make way for palm oil plantations. A Giant River frog seen at Kubah National Park in Kuching. Sarawak's government said it backed community conservation movements to preserve the amphibians and it ran well-protected game and nature reserves like Kubah National Park. Awareness events include the annual International Bornean Frog Race, which sees scientists and the public compete to spot and photograph as many frog species as possible within a set timeframe and area. For park ranger Tajuddin, the more people are able to engage with the unique creatures, the more they will understand the need to protect them and their habitats. "I love nature," he said. "Frogging is a unique way for me to share that love with all our visitors." — by Jan HENNOP/AFP
