TOKYO, May 5. /TASS/. A series of strong aftershocks may take place in Japan in the coming week in the wake of Friday’s earthquake, the country’s meteorological bureau said.
"Aftershocks of magnitudes above 6 may take place in the coming week, especially in the coming two to three days," the bureau’s spokesperson said at a press conference in Tokyo.
According to the latest data, the quake killed one person in the city of Suzu in the Ishikawa Prefecture. At least two more people in the prefecture were hospitalized as unconscious. At least two homes collapsed and several people remain under the rubble. First responders and rescue teams are working at the scene.
The earthquake occurred in the central part of Japan’s main island of Honshu on the coast of the Sea of Japan. The meteorological bureau initially reported that the quake’s magnitude stood at 6.3, but later Japanese seismologists upgraded its magnitude to 6.5. The epicenter was located on the Noto Peninsula in the Ishikawa Prefecture at a depth of about 12 kilometers. A crisis management center has been established under Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s office to gather and analyze information on the consequences of the earthquake. A similar center has been set up at the country's main police office.