7.1-magnitude quake hits Japan

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(3rd UPDATE) Tsunamis of up to 40 cm are reported Saturday in the same area where 18,000 died in a magnitude 9.0 tremor in 2011, but the tsunami advisory is lifted less than two hours after the quake

TOKYO, Japan (3rd UPDATE) – A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck off Japan’s east coast Saturday, October 26, prompting tsunami warnings from the state meteorological agency.

The quake – originally reported at magnitude 6.8 – struck at a depth of about 10 kilometers at 2:10 am local time in the Fukushima region, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

In an advisory issued at 2:50 am Japan time, the JMA upgraded the magnitude to 7.1, and raised yellow tsunami alert over 5 coastal regions – meaning tsunamis were “imminent.”

About an hour after the quake, a 30-centimeter tsunami was first recorded in the area. Around two hours after the powerful undersea quake, the JMA cancelled the tsunami alert.

A spokesman for the JMA told a hastily-convened press conference that no new waves were expected after the initial round, which saw waves up to 55 centimeters roll ashore.

Initially, a yellow tsunami alert was raised over:  

  • Iwate prefecture
  • Miyagi prefecture
  • Ibaraki prefecture
  • Kujukuri and Sotobo area, Chiba prefecture

A yellow tsunami warning means tsunami height can reach up to 1 meter.

The JMA advisory said, “Tsunamis are expected to arrive imminently in the following coastal regions of Japan.”

People were being warned to stay away from the coast with the small wave rolling ashore in Ishinomaki around an hour after the 7.1 magnitude quake.

Waves of up to 40 cm high were reported in Kuji Port, Iwate Prefecture and Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, a report from the Japan Times said. 

In the town of Ofunato, a 20-centimeter tsunami was logged just after 3 am, while Ishinomaki, which was devastated in 2011, recorded a 30-centimeter wave.

Local broadcaster NHK told viewers in the area there remained a possibility that secondary waves could strike, but live footage from harbors in several towns showed no significant changes. NHK also reported there were no immediate signs of serious damage or injury from the powerful and shallow undersea quake.

Aftershock

As it stood down its warnings, Japan‘s meteorological agency said the quake was an aftershock of the March 2011 tremor.

“We have lifted all tsunami alert but the sea level may continue to show small changes for half a day or so please be very careful when working by the sea,” an official told a press conference.

The area affected largely overlapped with that hit by the March 2011 disaster when more than 18,000 people died after a towering tsunami crashed ashore following a 9.0 magnitude undersea quake.

The US Geological Survey, meanwhile, located the epicenter of the quake at 320 km southeast of Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture. It initially measured the magnitude of the earthquake at 7.5, then downgraded it to 7.3.

It issued a green alert on its website, signalling a low probability of deaths or economic losses.

Kyodo news agency reported that workers at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant were “ordered to evacuate from the waterfront.”

It also quoted the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) as saying no new abnormalities had been found at the power station.

Cooling systems at the Fukushima nuclear plant were knocked out in 2011, sending reactors into meltdown and forcing tens of thousands of people to flee.

Eastern Japan, a seismically active region, was struck by a 6.5-magnitude earthquake in September, causing tremors that were felt 600 kilometers away in Tokyo. – with reports from Agence France-Presse/ Rappler.com 

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