Deep M6.9 earthquake hits Ogasawara region, Japan
Image credit: Google, TW/SAM
A very strong earthquake registered by the JMA as M6.8 at a depth of 490 km (304 miles) struck the Ogasawara (Bonin Islands) region of Japan at 08:25 UTC (17:26 JST) on April 18, 2020. The USGS is reporting M6.6 at a depth of 458 km (284 miles); EMSC M6.6 at a depth of 470 km (292 miles).
The epicenter was located about 205 km (127 miles) W of Ogasawara, Ogasawara-shoto Seiho-oki.
The quake poses no tsunami risk, JMA said.
There are no people living within 100 km (62 miles).
Image credit: Google, TW/SAM
The USGS issued a green alert for shaking-related fatalities and economic losses. There is a low likelihood of casualties and damage.
Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are resistant to earthquake shaking, though vulnerable structures exist. The predominant vulnerable building types are heavy wood frame and reinforced/confined masonry construction.
I'm a dedicated researcher, journalist, and editor at The Watchers. With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, I specialize in hard science news, focusing on extreme weather, seismic and volcanic activity, space weather, and astronomy, including near-Earth objects and planetary defense strategies. You can reach me at teo /at/ watchers.news.
GALACTIC COSMIC RAYS (GCR) TRIGGERED THIS EARTHQUAKE. During solar minimum high energy cosmic radiation can penetrate to a very deep distance below the Earth’s surface, in some case a few hundred kilometers. This is the reason why most if not all earthquakes during solar minimum are deep earthquakes. https://watchers.news/2015/06/09/cosmic-solar-radiation-as-the-cause-of-earthquakes-and-volcanic-eruptions/