TOKYO, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Residents of an island in Japan's southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima have begun evacuating on Friday amid a series of earthquakes, local media reported.

On Friday morning, residents of the village of Toshima on Akusekijima, part of the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima prefecture, departed by ship, heading to the city of Kagoshima, where they are expected to stay in temporary accommodation, the public broadcaster NHK reported.

An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.5 struck off the Tokara island chain on Thursday, following over 1,000 felt temblors in the area in nearly two weeks, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

The weather agency said the temblor, measuring a lower 6 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 on Akusekijima, was the first with such an intensity to be recorded in the village of Toshima since comparable data became available in 1919.

Following Thursday's quake, local authorities in Toshima, consisting of seven inhabited islands and five uninhabited ones, pledged to evacuate residents willing to leave Akusekijima, the NHK said.

The first group of 13 people up to the age of 80 aboard the ship was scheduled to reach Kagoshima shortly after 6 p.m. local time on Friday, the report said.

The officials said the evacuation was expected to last for about a week, noting residents from other islands may also be evacuated. ■