A magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck the eastern coast of Aomori, the northernmost prefecture of Japan’s main island, on Monday. As residents assess the damage, officials warn that another major quake could be close behind.

On Tuesday, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) issued the “Off the Coast of Hokkaido and Sanriku Subsequent Earthquake Advisory” to 182 municipalities, from Hokkaido to Chiba prefecture.

This type of warning follows earthquakes of magnitude 7.0 or greater in or around what are known as “megathrust earthquake zones” along the Japan and Chishima undersea trenches. Seismic activity of that nature is associated with an increasing likelihood of a magnitude 8 or larger quake in the coming days.

The probability of such an event is still only about 1%, but if an o

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