Japan 7.2 offshore quake brings small tsunami
09 March, 2011
TOKYO: A major 7.2-magnitude quake struck off Japan Wednesday, swaying buildings in Tokyo and triggering a 60-centimetre (24 inch) tsunami, but causing no reported casualties or damage. The tremor struck in the late morning about 10 kilometres (six miles) below the Pacific seafloor. The epicentre was about 160 kilometres offshore and 430 kilometres northeast of Tokyo. The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami warning for the east coast of the main Honshu island, where the 60-centimetre wave was first reported at Ofunato port half an hour after the quake without causing any damage. Police said they had received no reports of casualties from the quake, or from a 5.6-magnitude tremor that struck nearby about 12 minutes later. Nuclear power operators Tokyo Electric and Tohoku Electric reported their atomic plants in Aomori, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures were not damaged. Some Shinkansen bullet trains in the region automatically stopped when the quake hit but then resumed their services, railway operators said. Local residents in the rural seaside areas where the quake was felt most strongly reported no immediate damage from the quake. "It continued for about 30 seconds, but I don`t see anything that looks different," said Yoshio Hoshi, a retired fisherman in Miyagi prefecture. End.
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