6.1 magnitude earthquake hits Japan; no damages reported yet

Tokyo: The US Geological Survey (USGS ) and the Japan Meteorological Agency informed that an earthquake of magnitude 6.1 on the Ritcher Scale hit Hokkaido in northern Japan on Saturday night.

However, no Tsunami warnings were issued after the offshore quake, Agence France-Presse reported.

The quakes shook the coastal cities of Kushiro and Nemuro. So far, no damages or casualties have been reported by the major media outlets in Japan. But an expert warned the public to be cautious against further quakes for a week.

The tremors happened at 10:27 pm (1327 GMT) at a depth of around 43 kilometres, USGS stated.

Japan is prone to earthquakes since it is located at the Pacific "Ring of Fire". It is an arc of intense seismic activity and spans through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin, AFP writes.

Japan has stringent construction regulations shaped to ensure buildings withstand strong tremors. It also runs routine emergency drills to prepare for a major disaster.

Meanwhile, in Turkey, where catastrophic earthquakes battered human life, the administration has started the process of rebuilding homes, a government official announced on Friday as the death toll in both Turkey and Syria crossed the 50,000 mark.

The earthquakes on February 6 that killed tens of thousands in Turkey and neighbouring Syria also caused more than 160,000 buildings, housing 520,000 apartments, to collapse or suffer significant damage.

On Friday night, the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) reported that the number of earthquake-related fatalities in Turkey had increased to 44,218, Reuters reported.

With Syria's most recent death toll of 5,914, the total number of deaths in the two nations has surpassed 50,000.