Shallow 5.9 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Off Northern Japan

A shallow 5.9 magnitude earthquake hit off the coast of Hokkaido, located in northern Japan, on Nov. 5, said the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

The moderate tremor at a depth of about 4.9 miles and was centered about 66 miles northeast of Shibetsu, located in western Hokkaido.

The USGS said there is a low chance of damage and casualties, the AFP news agency reported.

Several weeks ago, a 6.6 magnitude earthquake struck off Hokkaido, causing landslides, destroying buildings, and killing 40 people, AFP noted.

At least 641 people were injured, Japanese officials said in the aftermath of the quake, CNN reported.

A shallow 5.9 magnitude earthquake hit off the coast of Hokkaido, located in northern Japan, on Nov. 5, said the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

Japan sits along the Pacific “Ring of Fire” and is particularly earthquake-prone. In March 2011, a 9.1 magnitude quake triggered widespread damage, killing at least 15,000 people while crippling the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, forcing the evacuation and permanent relocation of thousands of people within an approximately 10-mile radius from the plant.

In September 1923, an 8.3 magnitude earthquake in Japan killed 142,000 people and devastated Tokyo and other cities. “The initial jolt was followed a few minutes later by a 40-foot-high tsunami. A series of towering waves swept away thousands of people,” says Smithsonian Magazine.

About 90 percent of all earthquakes occur along the Ring of Fire.

The Pacific "Ring of Fire." Public Domain

“The Ring of Fire isn’t quite a circular ring. It is shaped more like a 40,000-kilometer (25,000-mile) horseshoe. A string of 452 volcanoes stretches from the southern tip of South America, up along the coast of North America, across the Bering Strait, down through Japan, and into New Zealand. Several active and dormant volcanoes in Antarctica, however, ‘close’ the ring,” according to National Geographic.

According to the USGS, “The next most seismic region (5-6% of earthquakes) is the Alpide belt (extends from Mediterranean region, eastward through Turkey, Iran, and northern India).”