Earthquake hits off Japan’s east coast as country braced for monster typhoon
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake has struck off the east coast of Japan’s main Honshu island as monster Typhoon Hagibis is set to make landfall in the middle of the country.
Japan’s Meteorological Agency reported that the quake hit at 6.22pm local time and it is not expected to trigger a tsunami. It struck at a depth of 59.6 km and its epicenter is 55 kilometres south southeast of Katsuura in Chiba prefecture, the US Geological Survey reports.
M5.5 #earthquake strikes 143 km SE of #Yokohama-shi (#Japan) 13 min ago. Effects reported by eyewitnesses: pic.twitter.com/fCUgDAcOMG
— EMSC (@LastQuake) October 12, 2019
More than 1.6 million people have already been ordered to evacuate parts of Honshu as Typhoon Hagibis barrels towards the center of Japan.
The violent storm, set to be Japan’s worst in 60 years, has already claimed its first victim as a man was killed when a vehicle toppled over in heavy winds in Chiba, east of Tokyo, NHK News reports.
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