A 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit off the coast of Japan today, the USGS reports (the location is circled on the USGS map below).
The earthqauke was 131 miles off the coast of Sendai, but it was large enough to trigger a tsunami warning. While no damage has been reported, coastal residents, including Fukushima nuclear power plant workers, were urged to evacuate.
“A tsunami warning indicated the possibility of waves as high as 50 centimeters. But at the Sendai airport, flights took off without disruption, television station NHK reported,” Chico Harlan of The Washington Post reports. “Within an hour of the quake, work resumed at the Fukushima nuclear plant. None of the nuclear plants along Japan’s northeastern coast, including Daiichi, reported problems as a result of the tremor.”
This was the largest earthquake to hit Japan (or near Japan) since the March 11 earthqaukes that caused numerous disasters for the country and people around the world. Luckily, though, it didn’t do much to disturb the recovering country. Here’s more from The India Times:
“Small tsunami waves reached the Pacific coast of northern Japan on Sunday after a major quake hit the region heavily damaged by the March earthquake and tsunami, the Japan Meteorological Agency said…. No damage has been reported from the tsunami and quake, which was strong enough to sway skyscrapers in Tokyo, some 400 kilometres from the epicentre.”
The USGS initally listed the quake as a 7.1-magnitude quake but lowered that to 7.0. The Japan Meteorological Agency initially listed the quake as a 7.1-magnitude one but has raised that to 7.3. Interesting.
Keep your eye on the latest earthquakes in Japan or worldwide via the USGS.
Related Story on Planetsave: Japan Earthquake Triggered Volcano Eruption In Russia?
hi
The quake was predicted well in advance.
pl see my blog