Kanto's earthquake nest strikes again

For those of you residing anywhere between Kanagawa and Miyagi, you might

have felt a jolt, a shake, or a roll this morning. Just after 10 a.m., while I was puttering around my apartment in northern Chiba Prefecture, I felt a first bump. The shake that followed rattled the dishes and made the floor roll. The quake, 5.0 on the Richter Scale, produced a Shindo 4 shake. At Shindo 4, you're likely to be startled by the first shock. The metal handles on my tansu rattled, utility poles outside my window swayed, and the floor rolled like a boat. No damage, just jangled nerves. The notifications on my phone came after the quake struck. 

My home is just about 10 kilometers from Ibaraki's "earthquake nest"

I immediately tuned into らじる★らじる, NHK's radio homepage. In less than five minutes, NHK AM began a live emergency broadcast. The announcers made rolling updates of shakes in the affected regions and provided safety advice. Fortunately, there was no tsunami warning as the epicenter is well inland.

The earthquake originated in the 地震の巣, jishin no su, the earthquake nest. This region in Ibaraki Prefecture is where the Philippine Sea Plate subducts beneath the continental plate. It's a spot with lots of natural beauty. I recommend checking out the Ibaraki Nature Museum there. It's on the western side of the rift, which creates Sugao Marsh.

This vigorous shake is a reminder to update my bug-out bag and reacquaint myself with emergency communications.

Did you feel the April 1st quake?