EARTHQUAKE

Japan warned of a heightened threat of a magnitude 8.0 earthquake or stronger after a powerful offshore jolt struck the country’s north, sending authorities scrambling to issue a tsunami alert. In a statement, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said that "the likelihood of a new, huge earthquake occurring is relatively higher than during normal times". The advisory for the northern region was issued hours after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit the area, shaking high-rise buildings in Tokyo, hundreds of kilometres from the…

A powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake shook northeastern Japan late Monday, prompting evacuation orders for about 90,000 residents and tsunami warnings that were later downgraded to advisories, officials said. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) initially warned that waves as high as 3 meters could strike parts of the northeastern coast after the quake hit at 11:15 p.m. local time (2:15 p.m. Irish time). Observed tsunami between 20 and 70 centimeters reached several ports, including along stretches of Hokkaido, Aomori and…

Across continents, an earthquake's echoes: Afghan villages flattened, diaspora left to grieve One week after a late‑night earthquake tore through the steep valleys of eastern Afghanistan, survivors still sift through mud and stone, looking for the impossible — the bodies of loved ones, the foundations of a life. In Ireland, a man named Raoof Safi repeated the same ritual of pale modern grief: scrolling through videos, answering phone calls, counting names. The quake, measured at about magnitude 6.0 and striking around…

An earthquake measuring 5.3 on Rwanda's seismic monitor hit the border with Congo and Rwanda on Tuesday. Several buildings collapsed in the city of Goma, raising fears that a nearby volcano would erupt again three days after dozens of people were killed and 17 villages destroyed by lava. The quake was the largest of more than 100 quakes that followed the eruption of the Congolese volcano Nyiragongo on Saturday, one of the world's most active and dangerous. "We know that children were injured when a…