Russia hit by 7-magnitude earthquake, Japan's wrong 9.9 warning sparks panic

An earthquake measuring 7 on the Richter scale struck Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on Friday, triggered an emergency warning in Japan that was issued after preliminary data suggested a potentially catastrophic 9.9 tremor near the Kuril Islands.

Japan’s warning was cancelled shortly after it was issued, after further analysis showed the initial estimate had significantly overstated the quake’s magnitude.

The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said the earthquake struck at a depth of around 140 km. A subsequent update put the magnitude at 6.9 to 7.0, with the epicentre near the east coast of Kamchatka and the depth estimated at 143 km.

According to NHK News, Japan’s Meteorological Agency issued an emergency earthquake warning after its initial automated assessment indicated the possibility of an extremely powerful earthquake near the Kuril Islands.

The alert warned of potentially maximum-level shaking in parts of Hokkaido, Tohoku and Kanto.

The agency withdrew the warning shortly afterwards when a more detailed analysis found that the actual earthquake was significantly weaker than the initial estimate had suggested.

Shaking in Japan was limited, with a maximum seismic intensity of 1 reported in areas including Hakodate.

There was no tsunami threat, according to the tsunami warning centres cited in the inputs.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no threat to Guam, Rota, Tinian or Saipan, while the Tsunami Warning Center also reported no tsunami danger from the earthquake.

The sharp discrepancy between Japan’s initial estimate and the subsequent assessment has raised questions about the automated warning system’s preliminary calculations.

A probe is currently underway as to why the first data produced such a high magnitude estimate.

- Ends