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Shindo, which is measured on a scale from 0 to 7 in Japan, is used to measure the seismic intensity at a specific location. Six of the earthquakes were at shindo 4, while the strongest earthquake occurred around 5pm on Jun. 22, as reported by local media this week. The strongest quake, registered as shindo 5.1, occurred on an island just north of Okinawa. There have been as many as 15 quakes in an hour. Experts noted that larger quakes may occur, with JMA's Fukuoka regional headquarters warning those in the area to be on alert against earthquakes with strong shaking. Masashi Kiyomoto, a Meteorological Agency official in charge of earthquakes and tsunamis, said that the region is known for repeated bursts of seismic activity and added that similar clusters occurred in December 2021 and September 2023, as reported by The Japan Times. While 346 quakes of shindo 1 or higher were recorded in 2023, another 308 were documented in 2021, with one being a magnitude 6.1 quake that reached shindo 5 on Akuseki, one of the Tokara Islands. Though no tsunami has been reported in connection with any of the quakes, authorities cautioned that a larger event, such as a magnitude 6 or higher earthquake, could heighten such a risk. Megaquake prediction Earlier this year, a Japanese government panel issued a prediction that an earthquake with a magnitude of 8.8 would occur near the trench within 30 years. In the worst-case scenario where the earthquake occurs on a late winter night with few prepared for early evacuation, the government predicted that the natural disaster may lead to up to 298,000 deaths and a loss of up to 270 trillion yen (S$2.43 trillion) in Japan's economy.
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