Magnitude 6.3 quake rattles Miyagi and halts bullet train services
A strong offshore tremor shook northeastern Japan, registering lower 5 in Miyagi and prompting JR East to pause Tohoku Shinkansen services.
- A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck off the coast of Japan's Miyagi Prefecture.
- The tremor registered a lower 5 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale in the hardest-hit areas.
- As a result of the quake, East Japan Railway Co. temporarily suspended Tohoku Shinkansen bullet train services.
- No tsunami was triggered by the offshore earthquake.
An offshore earthquake estimated at magnitude 6.3 shook northeastern Japan on Friday (May 15), with the Japan Meteorological Agency saying the tremor reached lower 5 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale.
The quake struck at around 8.22pm at a depth of about 50 kilometres off Miyagi Prefecture. No tsunami was triggered.
Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture recorded a lower 5, the fifth-highest level on Japan’s seismic intensity scale. Kesennuma, also in Miyagi, and Ofunato in neighbouring Iwate Prefecture each registered intensity 4, the sixth-highest level.
After the quake, East Japan Railway Co., or JR East, temporarily suspended Tohoku Shinkansen bullet train services between Tokyo and Shin-Aomori stations.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
