14 Mar 2014

Strong quake hits off Japan

3:08 pm on 14 March 2014

A 6.3-magnitude earthquake has struck off southern Japan, injuring 17 people. Officials have warned residents to be alert to the danger of landslides following the tremor early on Friday.

There was no tsunami warning or reports of major damage.

The United States Geological Survey says the epicentre of the quake was 13km north of the city of Kunisaki at a depth of 82km.

The quake registered a strong intensity in parts of southwestern Shikoku, the main island of Honshu and southern Kyushu islands, AFP reports.

There were no abnormalities detected at the Ikata nuclear plant in Ehime prefecture or at the

Shimane plant in Shimane prefecture.

More than 18,000 people died when a 9.0-magnitude undersea earthquake sent a towering tsunami barrelling into Japan's northeast coast in March 2011 in the country's worst post-World War II disaster.

Cooling systems at the Fukushima nuclear plant were knocked out, sending reactors into meltdown and forcing tens of thousands of people to flee.