Earthquakes active this week near Honshu, Japan

This past week, September 11-18, 2011, was active for earthquakes off the east coast of Honshu, Japan – the same area struck by the destructive 9.0 magnitude Tohoku quake and accompanying tsunami in March 2011. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has reported 12 earthquakes of magnitude 5 or above during the past seven days, including a strong 6.7-magnitude quake two days ago. The most recent quake was 5.6 magnitude, earlier today (September 18, 2011).

The 6.7-magnitude undersea quake off the east coast of Honshu, Japan struck on Friday, September 16, 2011, at 19:26:41 UTC (Saturday, September 17, 2011, at 04:26:41 a.m. at epicenter).

USGS page on 6.7 magnitude Japan earthquake on September 16

USGS page on 5.6-magnitude Japan earthquake on September 18

USGS page on earthquakes around globe magnitude 5 or greater past seven days (week of September 11-18, 2011)

There have been no immediate reports of damage or casualties and no widespread tsunami warning. Just a noticeably active week for earthquakes in Japan, which is located along the Ring of Fire around the Pacific Ocean, a region of the world prone to earthquakes.

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