A huge earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1 has hit off the eastern coast of Japan, shaking buildings in Tokyo to the southwest.
The epicentre was off the coast of Fukushima with a depth of 36 miles (60km), the country’s meteorological agency said.
But they added that there appeared to be no major damage and no tsunami warnings issued.
Japan’s public broadcaster, NHK, said the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant was still checking if there were any problems, and there were no immediate reports of irregularities from others in the area.
It comes just weeks before the 10-year anniversary of the March 11, 2011, quake which devastated northeast Japan and triggered a massive tsunami leading to the world’s worst nuclear crisis in a quarter of a century.
Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world’s most seismically active areas. Japan accounts for about 20 percent of the world’s earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.
That 9.0 magnitude earthquake as the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Japan, and the fourth most powerful earthquake in the world since modern record-keeping began in 1900.
It triggered a powerful tsunami with waves of up to 40ft killing nearly 16,000 people, according to the latest report from the Japanese National Police Agency.
The website said: “It is interesting to note that today’s quake occurred in almost the same location as the catastrophic Tohoku earthquake from 11 March 2011.
“In fact, it is likely a late aftershock.”
MET NEWS
