A major earthquake off Japan was detected almost 10,000 kilometres away in Clare this week. The 7.7 magnitude quake which struck off the north-east coast of the Asian island nation on Monday morning was recorded by the seismometer in the Burren and Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark office in Ennistymon. Thousands have fled coastal areas to move to higher ground as Japan's meteorological agency warns that quakes "causing even stronger shaking" could be felt in the next week. Geologist for the Burren and Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark, Dr Eamon Doyle, says studying events of this nature allows us to gain a better understanding of "how the earth works".