A magnitude 5.9 earthquake rattled eastern Japan early on Sunday morning. The quake struck at 2 a.m. while most residents were sleeping. Its epicenter was in southern Ibaraki Prefecture, about 60 kilometers northeast of Tokyo. The shaking was felt across several prefectures and woke millions of people. Fortunately, there was no danger of a tsunami.
More than 30 people were injured, though most injuries were minor. Many people were hurt by falling objects or by stumbling in the dark. An underground water pipe ruptured in Tokyo, flooding a street. Train services were disrupted as operators inspected tracks for possible damage. However, the famous bullet trains resumed running normally quite quickly.
Japan's earthquake early warning system proved its value once again. The system detected the quake and sent alerts to millions of phones. These alerts gave people precious seconds to protect themselves before the shaking. The system uses over 4,000 sensors placed across the entire country. If people did not receive these warnings, injuries could be much worse.
Japan sits on several active fault lines, making earthquakes very common. Last month, a devastating magnitude 7.1 quake hit Kumamoto, killing dozens of people. Scientists constantly study how to predict and prepare for such events. Many experts believe that strong buildings and warning systems save countless lives. Living in Japan means being always prepared for the next earthquake.
