Strong earthquake rattles western Japan, followed by several more shakes

A series of earthquakes rocked Shimane and Tottori prefectures on Tuesday morning, beginning with a magnitude 6.2 shake at 10:18 am local time measuring a strong 5 on Japan's seismic intensity scale, Report informs via The Japan Times.

While official information on injuries or damage has not been released, NHK reported that four people were sent to hospitals and some buildings were damaged following the quake.

The epicenter of the initial quake, which occurred at a depth of 10 kilometers, was recorded in eastern Shimane Prefecture, but shaking was felt across wide areas of western Japan, triggering early warning alerts on television broadcasts and mobile phones.

A seismic intensity level of strong 5 was recorded in Shimane's Matsue and Yasugi, as well as in Tottori's Sakaiminato, Hino and Kofu. There was no threat of a tsunami, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

As of 12:50 pm, 12 quakes had followed the initial shake in the area, including a magnitude 5.1 temblor that measured a weak 5 on the intensity scale.