Magnitude earthquake 7.3 in Japan
A major earthquake struck off Japan’s northeastern coast Sunday, prompting tsunami advisories that were later canceled – the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.
Small tsunamis were observed along the coast, measuring between 10 and 20 centimeters – said the JMA.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage, according to the Japanese news agency Kyodo.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake struck at 10:57 a.m. at the epicenter, about 130 miles east of Sendai.
The earthquake was more than 20 miles deep and had a magnitude of 7.0 – the USGS said.
The JMA measured the magnitude of the quake at 7.1.
Tsunami advisories were issued – and then canceled – for the coastal regions of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima. The areas were among the hardest hit by this year’s devastating earthquake and tsunami.
Officials in Ofunato, a city in Iwate, advised residents to evacuate.
The JMA, immediately after the quake, forecast the height of the tsunami could reach half a meter (about 20 inches).
No immediate abnormalities were reported at nearby nuclear facilities, according to Kyodo.
Three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant suffered meltdowns after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devastated northern Japan. The tsunami swamped the plant and knocked out cooling systems that kept the three operating reactors from overheating, leading to the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.
- 7.3 magnitude earthquake.
Yet another massive earthquake of a 7.3 magnitude jolted Japan’s northeastern coast on Sunday that triggered a brief tsunami warning for the area, which is still recovering from the March 11 earthquake and resulting tsunami that destroyed houses, power and swept away whole towns.
According to public broadcaster NHK, the tsunami alert for the northeast coast has been lifted, about two hours after the quake. Earlier, the workers at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant were warned to evacuate following an alert for a tsunami of 50 centimeters issued by the country’s metreological agency. However, there were no immediate reports of damage from the earthquake.
The earthquake struck at 9:57 local time (0057 GMT). The epicenter of the quake was in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Japan’s main island (Honshu) at a depth of about 20 miles (30 kilometers).
The same area was hit by a massive 9.0 earthquake on March 11 that left nearly 23.000 dead or missing. It also cut power to the Fukishima nuclear power plant that eventually melted down into the worst nuclear disaster ever.
After March 11, due to power loss at the Fukushima nuclear plant, the cooling systems were hurt badly, causing fuel in three of the plant’s six reactors to melt down. Apart from that, subsequent hydrogen blasts scattered radioactive waste over a wide area.
Because of the radiation, nearly 80.000 residents have been forced to evacuate. Japan’s government has faced tough time for its handling of the disaster, putting more pressure on unpopular Prime Minister Naoto Kan to quit.
Fortunately, there were no reports of abnormalities at the Fukushima plant caused by Sunday’s quake, according to Japan’s Kyodo news agency. Airports are also functioning normally.
Areas in northeastern Japan hard hit by the March 11 mega earthquake and ensuing tsunami were jolted again Sunday morning by a strong earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3 – the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage from the 9:57 a.m. quake, which registered 4 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in 11 municipalities in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures including the city of Morioka in Iwate.
The agency initially put the quake’s magnitude at 7.1 but later revised it to 7.3.
A warning for a tsunami of up to 50 centimeters was issued for Pacific coastal areas of the three prefectures immediately after the quake, but was lifted at 11:45 a.m.
Ten-cm tsunamis were observed at Ofunato port in Iwate at 10:44 a.m. and at Soma port in Fukushima at 11:11 a.m., the agency said, adding that another 10-cm tsunami reached Ofunato port at 11:20 a.m.
The town of Otsuchi in Iwate and the city of Higashimatsushima in Miyagi issued evacuation directives, while other local municipalities issued evacuation recommendations for their residents.
The coastal areas of the three prefectures were severely hit by the March disaster, which took the lives of more than 15.500 people. Nearly 5.400 people are still missing.
The quake measured 3 on the Japanese scale in other parts of the prefectures as well as some parts of Aomori, Akita and Yamagata prefectures and downtown Tokyo.
Shaking was also felt in some parts of the Kinki region in western Japan and in the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido.