Powerful earthquake hits Japan
- From:The Australian
- April 08, 2011 2:02AM
JAPAN was rocked late last night by another large earthquake prompting a warning of a tsunami of up to one metre for the Miyagi coast where the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is located.
The tsunami alert was later lifted at 1am local time (2am AEST) .
Early reports put the epicentre of the 7.1 magnitude quake in the Pacific Ocean about 66km east of Sendai, or 330km north northeast of Tokyo, at a depth of between 26 and 40km.
The quake, which hit at 11.32pm local time (12.32am AEST), is believed to have caused power failures in large parts of northern Honshu and severely shaken buildings. Miyagi Prefecture police reported no major damage or casualties as of 11.55pm Japan time.
However, reports of minor injuries from falls or falling household effects were beginning to filter through on local media.
The sections of northern Honshu worst hit in the previous quake and tsunami were all rocked by the tremor, the largest since the March 11 quake.
Power operator TEPCO said there were no reports of abnormality or injury at either the Fukushima Daiichi and Daini nuclear plants, which lie on the coast, like most other nuclear plants in Japan.
Cooling operations across the crippled Daiichi plant, and nitrogen injection into the severely damaged number one reactor, continued despite the quake, the utility said.
At the nearby Onagawa nuclear power plant, which has been shut down since the March 11 quake, two of three external power lines were cut by the quake but cooling operations were continuing with the remaining power source.
Tohoku Electric’s Higashidori nuclear plant in northern Honshu was using a backup generator after external power supply was cut following the quake.
Parts of Sendai, a city of about one million people, lost power and there were also reports of blackouts in Fukushima and Yamagata.
Tsunami warnings of 50cm were issued for the coast on either side of Miyagi running north to Aomori and south to Chiba.
People near the coast were told to evacuate to higher ground but there was no reports of any tsunami damage at 12.30am local time.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said the quake appeared to be an aftershock of the magnitude 9 quake on March 11.
Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan was last night preparing to give a press conference to update the nation on the situation after the latest quake.
New strong 7.4 earthquake rocks Japan, tsunami alert issued
by RussiaToday on Apr 7, 2011
Follow latest updates at http://twitter.com/RT_com andhttp://www.facebook.com/RTnews
A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake has struck off the coast of Japan, triggering a new tsunami warning. Residents of the North-East of the country have been ordered to evacuate to higher ground - the region is still in tatters following the deadly tsunami of last month. Early reports warn of a wave up to 2 meters high. Japanese authorities say the workers trying to bring the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant under control, have been evacuated.
A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake has struck off the coast of Japan, triggering a new tsunami warning. Residents of the North-East of the country have been ordered to evacuate to higher ground - the region is still in tatters following the deadly tsunami of last month. Early reports warn of a wave up to 2 meters high. Japanese authorities say the workers trying to bring the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant under control, have been evacuated.
Contributing sources: http://gatewaytoheaven.ning.com/forum/topics/powerful-earthquake-hits-japan
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