JAPAN — The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) held a news conference on Monday (April 20) lifting the tsunami alert for the Okinawa island chain triggered by a strong earthquake which rattled small islands in the far south of Japan and parts of Taiwan.
“At around 10:43 a.m. on April 20, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake has occurred and the Japan Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami warning to Miyakojima and Yaeyama region. The warning is lifted as of 11:50 a.m., which is right now,” JMA’s official Koji Nakamura told reporters.
JMA had said the tsunami could reach Miyakojima, popular with tourists for diving, at around 11:40 (0240 GMT), but there were no immediate reports of damage after the quake in either country nor had there been any observed tsunami.
“We haven’t been able to detect any movement in the ocean that can be called a tsunami,” Nakamura said.
There was no warning issued for the main Okinawa island, which hosts U.S. military bases.
The Japanese weather agency said the pattern of the earthquake was not unusual for that region.
“Similar earthquake mechanism has been observed many times in this region in the past, so it’s not that strange that this type of earthquake happened here,” Nakamura said.
The U.S. Geological Survey identified a single quake, measuring 6.6, hitting 72 km southeast of Su-ao in Taiwan at a depth of about 30 km (20 miles). There are often small discrepancies in quake details reported by different agencies.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no threat of a tsunami after the quake, which shook offices in the capital, Taipei.
(Reuters)