TOKYO, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- An advisory regarding the increased risk of another strong earthquake was lifted at midnight Monday, a week after a 7.5 magnitude temblor struck northern and northeastern Japan.
Residents are no longer required to stay on standby for immediate evacuation, but authorities continue to urge them to maintain disaster preparedness, including keeping emergency supplies on hand.
The 7.5 magnitude earthquake occurred at night on Dec. 8 off Aomori Prefecture's Pacific coast at a depth of 54 km, prompting the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) to issue tsunami warnings for parts of Hokkaido, Aomori and Iwate prefectures. More than 40 people were injured in northeastern and northern Japan following the strong quake.
Shortly after the quake, the weather agency for the first time issued an alert for a potential mega quake along the trench off the Pacific coast of northeastern Japan, noting there is a one-in-100 chance that a magnitude-8 or larger quake could occur within the coming week.
As of Monday afternoon, no megaquake struck the country during the week, according to the JMA.
The alert system, called an "Off the Coast of Hokkaido and Sanriku Subsequent Earthquake Advisory," began operating in December 2022 based on lessons learned from a 9.0 magnitude megaquake that devastated northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, followed by a 7.3 magnitude temblor, Kyodo News reported, adding that the advisory did not require precautionary evacuation. ■
