Tsunami alert lifted after magnitude 6.6 earthquake rattles southwestern Japan

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TOKYO (AP) — A tsunami advisory was issued for part of southwest Japan after a magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck Monday, but the warnings to stay away from coastal areas were later lifted. A few instances of minor damage were reported.

Japan’s Meteorological Agency initially estimated the magnitude was 6.9 but later revised it to 6.6.

One man was slightly injured in Kyushu after falling down some stairs, NHK TV reported. A small landslide blocked a road, and some underground water pipes ruptured.

NHK said a tsunami, estimated to be as high as 1 meter (3.2 feet), reached land within 30 minutes of the quake. The waters detected at Miyazaki Port measured 20 centimeters (0.7 feet) high, the reports said.

Tsunami advisories were issued for Miyazaki prefecture, where the quake was centered, on the southwestern island of Kyushu, as well as nearby Kochi prefecture in Shikoku island, shortly after the quake struck at 9:19 p.m., JMA said. They were all lifted before midnight.

Agency official Shigeki Aoki told reporters that aftershocks were possible, especially in the next two or three days.

The quake, centered at a depth of 36 kilometers (22 miles), shook a wide area in Kyushu, JMA said.

NHK footage showed moving traffic and well-lit streets, meaning that electric power was still working. No problems were detected at nuclear plants in the area.

Japan is frequently hit by earthquakes due to its location along the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.

Experts at the meteorological agency met late Monday to gauge how the latest temblor may be related to the so-called Nankai Trough quakes, but decided not to take any extraordinary measures for the time being. The term refers to a wide region believed to be prone to periodic major quakes.

A Nankai Trough quake off Shikoku in 1946 killed more than 1,300 people. The area was hit by a 7.1 magnitude quake in August last year.