The number of earthquakes that hit Japan this year with an intensity of one or higher was 3.5 times the figure for the previous year. The Japanese seismic scale varies from zero, which is imperceptible to people, to seven, the most strongly felt by humans. 

    Japan's Meteorological Agency says that as of 7 PM on Thursday, 6,566 earthquakes of one or higher had shaken the country this year. Last year's number was 1,842. In 2011, Japan registered more than 10,000 such quakes that were aftershocks of the Great East Japan Earthquake that triggered tsunami. But the number of quakes had been on a consistent downtrend since then, reported NHK World. 

    The agency cites the Kumamoto earthquakes as a cause for the increase in 2016. The serial tremors in the western prefecture led to more than 3,000 such quakes in April alone. The agency says 33 quakes registered an intensity of "5 lower" or above. Many people find it hard to move and walking is difficult at the "5 lower" intensity.

    In November, a quake off Fukushima Prefecture caused tsunami from Japan's northern to western Pacific coast, with a maximum 1.4-meter tsunami in a neighboring prefecture. Agency officials urge people to prepare for quakes and tsunami in their daily life because strong tremors could strike anywhere in Japan.

Source:  QNA