A strong earthquake struck off the coast of Fukushima, Japan on Saturday, just weeks before the 10-year anniversary of the deadly 2011 tsunami.
The 7.3-magnitude quake was strongly felt in Tokyo, but there was no tsunami warning being issued. Reports from officials said about 50 people injured, and almost one million homes lost their power.
The quake struck near the epicentre of a 2011 earthquake which triggered a tsunami and killed over 18,000 people.
That tsunami caused a nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant – the world’s most severe nuclear accident since the Chernobyl disaster in 1986.
Saturday’s quake hit at 23:08 local time (14:08 GMT) at a depth of 60km (37 miles) in the Pacific, off Japan’s eastern coast, JMA said. Aftershocks have continued to hit the region since.
“Casualties and structural damage are being assessed,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said during a press conference, but added that parts of the high-speed bullet train network had been suspended because of power outages.
“Surveys are being done at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear pant… We have received reports that Onagawa nuclear plant and Fukushima Daichi nuclear plant are not showing any abnormality.”
Source: BBC News
