On: A magnitude 6.9 earthquake has struck near Iwate Pref Japan

[mc3301]

And the Shindo system is best described as "what it feels like at the specific location"

So an earthquake can be a 4 at the epicenter, a 3 a little further away, a 2 even further away, and so on.

Common online conversation with a friend in a different prefecture may be something like, "Last night's earthquake was a 3 here, how about you?"