Japan: 7.3 magnitude earthquake shakes northeast coast – Tsunami alert

LAST UPDATE: 18.31

A strong earthquake, measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale, shook buildings, leaving hundreds of thousands of households in Tokyo without electricity.

The epicenter was reported below the Pacific Ocean floor, however; no tsunami alert was issued. The epicenter was reported below the Pacific Ocean floor, however; no tsunami alert was issued.

The quake affected Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures in northeastern Japan, according to an initial estimate by NHK Public Television. Authorities warned residents of Fukushima, Miyagi and Yamagata prefectures that quakes were expected.

The quake measured 7.3 on the Richter scale and up to 6+ on the Japanese scale in some areas, according to the public broadcaster NHK.

The JMA issued a tsunami alert for one-meter-high waves, the NHK reported, citing 20-centimeter-high waves in some areas.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the government was working to assess the extent of any damage after the quake, which shook large parts of Japan. “We will do our best to rescue victims (from the earthquake) and communicate the information properly,” he said.

The Tokyo Electric Power Company said about 2 million households were left without electricity, including 700,000 in the capital, and that it was monitoring the condition of the reactors at Fukushima and other stations, NHK reported.

No damage has been reported to them or to offshore oil refineries, government officials said.

About 156,000 homes were also left without electricity in the northeast of the country, according to Tohoku Power Electric.

Railway company JR East, which serves northeastern Japan, has announced significant downtime in its network.

Tepco said on Twitter that it was conducting inspections at its facilities, including the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which was severely damaged by a giant tsunami caused by the March 11, 2011 earthquake.

The Japanese Nuclear Regulatory Authority said it had not identified any problems at the Onagau power plant in the Miyagi section near Fukushima.

Japan observed a minute of silence last Friday in memory of the 2011 disaster, which left more than 18,500 dead and missing and forced more than 165,000 people in Fukushima prefecture to evacuate their homes due to radioactive emissions from the damaged factory. Three nuclear reactors had melted.

Local authorities still count 33,365 displaced people today, 80% of whom live outside the Fukushima prefecture.

Apart from the titanic task of decontaminating and dismantling the nuclear power plant, there are many other challenges, starting with the reputation of local food products, although their safety is strictly controlled.

At the crossroads of many large tectonic plates, Japan is regularly hit by earthquakes and has strict construction standards so that its buildings can withstand strong earthquakes.

SOURCE: AMPE