Japan: Earthquake of magnitude 5.1 strikes Chiba Prefecture

Tokyo, Aug 14: An earthquake of magnitude 5.1 struck Chiba Prefecture in Japan, said reports.

There were no immediate reports of damage.

The details of exact location of the epicentre is not known yet, but the epicentre of an earthquake of similar magnitude which had struck the region in May was off the coast of Chiba prefecture.

Japan sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" and is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

On August 7, a shallow earthquake of magnitude 5.6 had struck off the eastern coast of Japan. The epicentre of August 7 earthquake was 12.1 kilometers deep and centered 243 kilometers east of Ofunato city.

Many parts of the country have experienced devastating earthquakes and tidal waves in the past. The Great Kanto Earthquake, the worst in Japanese history, hit the Kanto plain around Tokyo in 1923 and resulted in the deaths of over 100,000 people.

In January 1995, a strong earthquake hit the city of Kobe and surroundings. Known as the Southern Hyogo Earthquake or Great Hanshin Earthquake, it killed 6,000 and injured 415,000 people. 100,000 homes were completely destroyed and 185,000 were severely damaged.

On March 11, 2011, the strongest ever recorded earthquake in Japan triggered a massive tsunami along the Pacific Coast of northeastern Japan. Known as the Great East Japan Earthquake, the earthquake and particularly the ensuing tsunami killed nearly 20,000 people and caused a nuclear accident at a power plant in Fukushima Prefecture.