Daijiworld Media Network - Tokyo

Tokyo, Jan 6: A 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck Shimane Prefecture in western Japan on Tuesday morning, injuring several people and causing property damage, local media reported. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said the quake occurred at 10:18 a.m. local time in eastern Shimane Prefecture at a depth of about 10 kilometres. In the hardest-hit areas of Shimane and neighbouring Tottori prefectures, the tremor registered an upper 5 on Japan’s 7-point seismic intensity scale.

The earthquake’s epicentre was pinpointed at 35.3 degrees north latitude and 133.2 degrees east longitude. Two aftershocks followed shortly after, measuring 5.1 and 5.4 magnitude at 10:28 a.m. and 10:37 a.m., respectively.

In Matsue City, Shimane, four people were hospitalized with injuries sustained from falls and other accidents during the quake. Several houses also suffered roof damage, according to reports from NHK cited by Xinhua news agency. In Sakaiminato City, Tottori Prefecture, cracks appeared on local roads, while two people were injured in Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture, located south of the epicentre.

The JMA revised the quake’s magnitude upward from an initial 6.2 and reported long-period ground motions of up to level 4 in western Tottori. Such slow, sustained seismic waves are particularly capable of causing high-rise buildings to sway, especially affecting upper floors.