6.6 magnitude earthquake shakes Japan, triggers tsunami warning

A magnitude 6.6 earthquake shook the island of Kyushu, in southwest Japan, the European Mediterranean Seismological Center announced on Monday.

The EMSC said the quake occurred at a depth of 37 kilometers (23 miles).

Shortly after the quake, at 9:19 p.m. local time, the Japan Meteorological Agency issued tsunami warnings for Miyazaki Prefecture, where the quake was centered, and neighboring Kochi Prefecture.

The agency said tsunami waves have already reached these prefectural shores, with an estimated maximum height of 3.2 feet.

The extent of the damage has not yet been determined.

Japan is located along the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific basin that make it a frequent target for earthquakes and seismic activity.

Last August, Japan’s weather agency warned that the country was at increased risk of experiencing a major, once-in-a-century “megaquake.” Worst-case scenarios predict that a wall of water with a potential height of 100 feet could crash along the Japanese coast, killing more than 300,000 people.