Earthquake with 6.1 magnitude hits northern Japan, no tsunami warning

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off Hokkaido in northern Japan on Saturday night, the US Geological Survey and the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

However, no tsunami warning has been issued. The quake hit off the Nemuro peninsula at a depth of 61 kilometres (38 miles), according to the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience (NIED), Reuters reported.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

In two municipalities in Hokkaido, the quake registered as a "lower 5" on Japan's 7-point intensity scale, which measures ground motion. That is usually a level where items fall out of shelves and unsecured furniture may move, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

An expert speaking on public broadcaster NHK warned residents to be vigilant against quakes for about a week.

Earthquakes are common in Japan, which sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of intense seismic activity that stretches through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

Earlier, it comes at a time when a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked wide swaths of Turkey and Syria on February 6, toppling hundreds of buildings and killing more than 2,300 people.

The death toll across Turkey and Syria has surpassed 50,000 on Friday after Turkey declared more than 44,000 people died. With Syria's latest announced death toll of 5,914, the combined death toll in the two countries rose to above 50,000, as reported by Reuters.

Authorities said more than 1,10,000 buildings across 11 quake-hit Turkish provinces were either destroyed or so severely damaged that they need to be torn down.

Turkey has a history of earthquakes, and the country has implemented measures to improve its ability to respond to and mitigate the impact of earthquakes. These measures include the construction of earthquake-resistant buildings, the development of early warning systems, and the implementation of emergency response plans.

Despite these efforts, earthquakes continue to pose a significant risk to the country, and ongoing preparedness and response efforts remain critical.

With inputs from agencies