5.5-magnitude earthquake rocks Japan's Hokkaido prefecture

TOKYO, April 30 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.5 rocked Japan's Hokkaido prefecture at 11:42 p.m. local time (1442 GMT), the Japan Meteorological Agency said Sunday.

The temblor was centered in the southern part of the Tokachi area in the northernmost prefecture Hokkaido, with the epicenter at a latitude of 42.3 degrees north and a longitude of 143.1 degrees east and at depth of 50 km.

The earthquake logged 4 in some areas of the Hokkaido prefecture on the Japanese seismic intensity scale which peaks at 7.

So far no major damage or injuries were reported, and no tsunami warning has been issued.