Scientists in Japan have warned that there may be a “megaquake” off the country’s Southern coast.
As a result, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday postponed a scheduled trip to Central Asia to spearhead the government’s reaction.
Following a magnitude 7.1 earthquake that occurred far off the eastern coast of Kyushu island, the Japan Meteorological Agency issued its first-ever “megaquake advisory” on Thursday, alerting people to the possibility of a future big earthquake caused by the underwater Nankai Trough.
In the past, destructive earthquakes have been caused by the trough that runs down Japan’s Pacific coast.
Seismologists at the agency held an emergency meeting after Thursday’s quake to analyse whether it had affected the nearby trough and reassessed the risk of a major quake.
They urged people to observe high caution levels for about a week.
Thursday’s quake injured 16 people, most of them slightly, and caused no major damage. Tsunami advisories…