Residents evacuate Japanese island after magnitude 5.5 earthquake

Residents of a remote island in southwestern Japan have evacuated after an earthquake of magnitude 5.5 hit the area.

NHK World Japan reported that on the afternoon of Jul. 3, Akusekijima island in Kagoshima Prefecture recorded a quake that registered ‘lower 6’ on the Japanese scale of 0 to 7.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the village had never before logged a quake of such intensity since comparable data became available in 1919.

All 76 residents on the island at the time were uninjured, Japan Today reported.

Residents evacuated

The next morning, about a dozen residents voluntarily departed by ship, expected to arrive by evening at a port in Kagoshima, where they will be staying for the time being.

Village officials said more evacuees could be expected as some had not applied for a seat on the ship in time.

They have also warned residents to be on alert for more quakes that could reach a similar intensity, as well as mudslides caused by rain.

1,000 quakes in two weeks

Akusekijima is one of the Tokara island chain’s 12 islands, of which seven are inhabited with a total population of about 700.

Since Jun. 21, hardly two weeks ago, the Tokara island chain region has been hit by over 1,000 earthquakes, with some ‘lower 5’ quakes registered in the past week, The Mainichi reported.

The swarm of tremors comes amid speculation that Japan could soon be hit by the once-in-a-century Nankai Trough megaquake, which has worst-case scenarios predicting a death toll of 300,000.

Adding fuel to the fire is a 1999 comic book containing prophetic claims of a massive earthquake on Jul. 5 in its new 2021 edition.

Unsure when quakes will stop

However, choosing to evacuate is no easy decision.

"Unlike weather disasters, one never knows when earthquakes will stop. The accumulated psychological fatigue of islanders must be significant," said Genichiro Kubo, mayor of Toshima village – the municipality consisting of all 12 islands of the Tokara island chain.

The island chain is no stranger to earthquakes, measuring one at ‘upper 5’ on the intensity scale on Akusekijima island in December 2021.

It had prompted 40 per cent of the island’s residents to evacuate and only return two weeks later when the number of quakes had dropped.

"There are people on the island, like farmers who raise cattle, who cannot evacuate even if they want to,” noted Kubo at a press conference on Jul.3, as quoted by The Mainichi. “Not knowing how long the quakes will continue must be truly painful."

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