Strong Earthquake Strikes Hokkaido, Japan… What About a Tsunami?

A 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck parts of Hokkaido, northern Japan, with no tsunami warnings issued by authorities. The Japan Meteorological Agency announced the occurrence of the earthquake at 6:55 PM local time on Sunday.

The earthquake occurred at a depth of 140 kilometers, registering below 5 on the Richter scale, which reaches a maximum of 7 in terms of seismic intensity. According to the Chinese news agency Xinhua, the epicenter of the earthquake was off Urakawa, at a latitude of 42.5 degrees north and a longitude of 142.0 degrees east.

Earlier on Sunday, the United States Geological Survey reported a 5-magnitude earthquake in Johannesburg, South Africa. The earthquake occurred at 00:38 GMT at a depth of 10 kilometers, and some residents of Johannesburg reported feeling tremors.

Dutch Earthquake Prophet

In late February, Dutchman Frank Hoogerbeets sparked global controversy with what he claimed were earthquake predictions. Hoogerbeets predicted “very large seismic activity” to occur in the first week of March, which did not materialize.

Susan Hough, a scientist with the United States Geological Survey’s Earthquake Hazards Program, dismissed Hoogerbeets as an “earthquake predictor.” Hough revealed the methodology used by Hoogerbeets in deceiving the world through his predictions, which generated significant debate.