No tsunami threat to Hawaii after magnitude 6.8 quake hits Japan

A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck southern Japan, but did not pose a tsunami threat to Hawaii, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said late Monday night.

“A tsunami threat exists for parts of the Pacific located closer to the earthquake. But based on all available data there is no tsunami threat to Hawaii,” a PTWC advisory said.

The earthquake struck Japan’s southern Kumamoto prefecture about 4:28 p.m. Tuesday local time (9:28 p.m. Monday in Hawaii.)

The Japan Meteorological Agency said a tsunami warning for a wave measuring 1 meter (3.28 feet) was issued for the region soom after the earthquake struck, but the warning was lifted about an hour later.

The JMA listed a preliminary magnitude of 7.1 but the U.S. Geological Survey said it was magnitude 6.8, at a depth of about 6 miles and centered about 3 miles east of Uto.

The Japanese government issued emergency earthquake warnings for Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Kagoshima, Fukuoka, Saga, Oita, and Miyazaki prefectures, all on Japan’s southern Kyushu island.

Companies including Sony and TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, have plants in the area of the quake. A Sony spokesperson said the company was checking the situation. TSMC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Kyushu Electric Power said about 40,000 homes had lost power as a result of the quake, while railway company JR Kyushu said that it had suspended services, including its high-speed bullet trains. There were no irregularities reported at the nuclear power stations in the area, Japan’s nuclear regulation authority said.

Japan is one of the world’s most earthquake-prone countries, with a tremor occurring at least every five minutes. Located along the “Ring of Fire” of volcanoes and oceanic trenches partly encircling the Pacific Basin, Japan accounts for about 20% of the world’s earthquakes of magnitude 6.0 or more.