TOKYO - A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck northeastern Chiba Prefecture at around 12:07 a.m. on October 29, registering a maximum intensity of 5-lower on Japan's seven-level seismic scale and sending tremors across a wide area of eastern and central Japan, including Narita Airport, where footage captured the moment of shaking.
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the earthquake's epicenter was located in northeastern Chiba Prefecture at an estimated depth of 50 kilometers. Authorities said there was no risk of a tsunami.
The strongest shaking, measuring 5-lower on the Japanese seismic intensity scale, was recorded in northeastern Chiba Prefecture. At this level, many people may find it difficult to walk without holding onto something, unsecured furniture can move or topple, and objects may fall from shelves.
Footage recorded at Narita Airport showed the moment the earthquake struck, highlighting the intensity of the tremors in the region surrounding one of Japan's busiest international aviation hubs.
Shaking measuring intensity 3 was recorded across northern and southern Ibaraki Prefecture, southern Tochigi Prefecture, southern Saitama Prefecture, northwestern and southern Chiba Prefecture, and eastern Kanagawa Prefecture.
Tremors measuring intensity 2 were felt across a much wider area, including northern Tochigi, northern Saitama, western Kanagawa, southern Miyagi, the Nakadori and Hamadori regions of Fukushima, northern and southern Gunma, Tokyo's 23 wards and eastern Tokyo, the Chuetsu region of Niigata, central and western Yamanashi, eastern Yamanashi and the Fuji Five Lakes area, as well as the Izu and eastern regions of Shizuoka Prefecture.
Weaker shaking measuring intensity 1 was also detected in the Chichibu region of Saitama, northern and central Miyagi, the Aizu region of Fukushima, western Tokyo, the Izu Islands including Izu Oshima, Niijima and Miyakejima, central Shizuoka, the Murayama region of Yamagata, and central and southern Nagano.
The earthquake was felt across a broad stretch of eastern Japan, extending from the Tokyo metropolitan area northward into parts of the Tohoku region and westward into the central Japanese prefectures.
Although the magnitude was estimated at 5.4, the relatively shallow depth and proximity to populated areas resulted in strong local shaking, particularly in northeastern Chiba.
The Japan Meteorological Agency confirmed that the earthquake posed no tsunami threat.
Source: TBS
