The Japan Meteorological Agency (which also monitors seismic activity) recorded a Magnitude 6.8 Earthquake at a depth of 10 km in Nagano Prefecture on Honshū Island, slightly before 10.10 pm Japan Standard Time (slightly before 1.10 pm GMT) on Saturday 22 November 2014. Over 40 people are reported to have been injured, seven of them seriously, in the incident, which was felt across most of central Honshū, and over 50 homes have been destroyed. A series of aftershocks have been reported since the event, and rescue teams are still searching the remains of many buildings for further survivors.
A collapsed home in Nagano Prefecture following the 22 November 2014 Earthquake. Associated Press/Kyodo News/Japan Out.
Japan has a complex tectonic situation, with parts of the country on
four different tectonic plates. Eastern Honshu area lies on the boundary
between the Pacific, Eurasian and Philipine Plates, where the Pacific
Plate is passing beneath the Eurasian and Philipine Plates as it is
subducted into the Earth. This is not a smooth process; the rocks of the
two plates constantly stick together, only to break apart again as the
pressure builds up, causing Earthquakes in the process.
The movement of the Pacific and Philippine Plates beneath eastern Honshu. Laurent Jolivet/Institut des Sciences de la Terre d'Orléans/Sciences de la Terre et de l'Environnement.
See also...
Ten people have been confirmed dead and 63 have been injured following
an unpredicted eruption of Mount Ontake on central Honshū on Saturday 27
September 2014. At least 26 people remain...
The Japan Meteorological Agency recorded a Magnitude 5.5 Earthquake at a
depth of 90 km in eastern Iwate Prefecture on northern Honshū Island,
Japan, slightly...
The Japan Meteorological Agency recorded a Magnitude 6.2 Earthquake at a depth of 160 km, off the south
coast of the Kantō Region of Honshu Island, slightly before 5.20 am
Japan Standard Time on Sunday 4 May 2014...
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