A remote island chain in southern Japan has been shaken by more than 900 quakes in the last two weeks, the weather agency said on Wednesday (Jul 2), with residents saying they were unable to sleep.

日本气象厅周三（7月2日）表示，日本南部一个偏远岛链在过去两周内已发生900多次地震， 居民们说他们无法入睡。



No major damage has been reported from the series of tremors, but the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) held an emergency news conference after a magnitude 5.5 quake was registered around 3.30pm (2.30pm, Singapore time) in the Tokara island chain, south of Kyushu region.

虽然这一系列地震尚未造成重大破坏， 但在九州地区以南的吐噶喇列岛于下午3点30分左右（新加坡时间下午2点30分） 发生5.5级地震后，日本气象厅（JMA）召开了紧急新闻发布会。

"Seismic activity has been very active in the seas around the Tokara island chain since Jun 21," Ayataka Ebita, director of the earthquake and tsunami observation division, told reporters.

“自6月21日以来，吐噶喇列岛周边海域的地震活动一直十分活跃。” 地震与海啸观测部门负责人绘鸠礼多告诉记者。

"As of 4pm today, the number has exceeded 900," he said, adding the agency could not tell when quakes would end.

“截至今天下午4点，地震次数已超过900次。”他补充道，气象厅无法预测地震何时会结束。

Tokara village said on its website that residents haven't been able to sleep and were tired.

吐噶喇村在其网站上表示，居民无法入睡，十分疲惫。

"It feels like it's always shaking," one resident told regional broadcaster MBC. "It's very scary to even fall asleep."

“感觉一直在摇晃，”一名居民告诉地区广播公司MBC， “甚至入睡都令人害怕。”

"It's not clear when all this will end. I should think about whether to evacuate my kids," another resident said.

“不清楚这一切何时会结束。 我得考虑要不要带孩子先离开这儿，”另一名居民表示。

A similar period of intense seismic activity in the Tokara area was seen in September 2023, when 346 earthquakes were recorded, according to the JMA.

据日本气象厅称，2023年9月，吐噶喇地区也曾出现过类似的地震高发期，当时记录到346次地震。

Seven of the 12 remote Tokara Islands are inhabited, with around 700 residents in total.

吐噶喇列岛共有12个偏远岛屿，其中7个有人居住，居民总数约700人。

Japan is one of the world's most seismically active countries, sitting on top of four major tectonic plates along the western edge of the Pacific "Ring of Fire".

日本是世界上地震活动最频繁的国家之一， 位于太平洋“火环”西缘的四大主要构造板块之上。

The archipelago, home to around 125 million people, experiences around 1,500 jolts every year and accounts for about 18 per cent of the world's earthquakes. The vast majority are mild, although the damage they cause varies according to their location and the depth at which they strike.

这个拥有约1.25亿人口的岛国每年发生约1500次地震， 约占全球地震总数的18%。 尽管绝大多数地震较为轻微，但其造成的破坏程度因地震发生位置和震源深度而异。

Nearly 600 people died after a massive earthquake hit the Noto Peninsula in central Japan on New Year's Day in 2024.

2024年元旦，日本中部能登半岛发生特大地震，造成近600人死亡。

素材来源：iYuba