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Why Japan issued its first-ever mega-earthquake alert

The chances of a larger quake in the next week slightly increased

A map of Japan is shown.

On Thursday, August 8, a magnitude 7.1 occurred off the coast of southern Japan, prompting the country to issue its first-ever 'megaquake alert.'

Hammad Khan/Getty Images

By Nikk Ogasa

On August 8, the Japanese Meteorological Agency issued its first-ever “megaquake alert,” after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake rocked the Miyazaki prefecture in southern Japan earlier that day. The Miyazaki quake injured at least 16 people and generated minor tsunamis up to 50 centimeters tall that reached the country’s coastline about half an hour later.