Japan urges evacuation of Small Island as 1,000 quakes hit region

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  • Japan urges evacuation of Small Island as 1,000 quakes hit region

Japanese authorities urged the 89 residents of a small southern island to evacuate after a strong earthquake on Thursday, the latest of more than 1,000 recent jolts to hit the area. Residents were urged to evacuate to "a school playground in Akuseki Island", a municipal official told the media.

Akuseki is part of the Tokara island chain, south of Kyushu region, which has been rattled by 1,031 quakes since June 21. No major damage has been reported. After all residents were confirmed safe, the evacuation instruction was later lifted .On Thursday, a 5.5 magnitude quake struck near Akuseki. There was no tsunami risk from Thursday's quake, according to the director of the earthquake and tsunami observation division of the Japan Meteorological Agency.

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