Powerful earthquake jolts Japanese coast
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A strong earthquake has jolted Japan’s northeast coast, shaking buildings, leaving parts of Tokyo without power and triggering a tsunami warning.
The tremor off the coast of Fukushima registered magnitude 7.3 and as high as a 6-plus on the Japanese shaking intensity scale in some areas – too strong for people to stand, according to public broadcaster NHK.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said the quake hit at 11.36pm on Wednesday at a depth of 60km below the sea.
The agency issued a tsunami advisory for up to a metre sea surge in parts of Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures.
Japan’s Air Self-Defence Force said it dispatched fighter jets from the Hyakuri base in Ibaraki prefecture, just south of Fukushima, for information gathering and damage assessment.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the government was working to assess the extent of any damage after the tremor.
The same region was hit by a major quake followed by a tsunami in 2011 that triggered the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
Tokyo Electric Power Company said that about two million households were without power and that it was checking the condition of reactors at the Fukushima plant, NHK said.
Authorities warned residents in Fukushima, Miyagi and Yamagata prefectures to expect aftershocks.
The Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre said there was no tsunami threat to the Australian mainland, islands or territories.
with reporting from AP
Reuters
