The Japan Meteorological Agency said the quake was an aftershock to the 2011 earthquake, the largest since that quake’s immediate aftershocks.
The JMA warned that another large quake could be expected within the next few days, and people in the region have been advised to “remain cautious” for the next week.
At the Fukushima Daini nuclear power plant, the reactor number 3 spent fuel pool pump stopped operating at 6.10am as a result of the quake. Operation resumed at 7.49am and the plant is reported to be safe and “intact”.
So far, at least people are reported to have suffered minor injuries in the quake. No deaths have been reported.
Tsunami waves were filmed surging up the Sunaoshi river in Tagajo city after a quake of magnitude 7.4 shook Japan’s eastern coast, prompting evacuation warnings:
Seismologists label an earthquake as an aftershock using two guidelines.
First, the earthquake must occur within an ‘aftershock zone’, which is usually defined as the region within one fault-rupture length of the mainshock rupture surface or the area defined by seismologists based on previous aftershock activity.
Second, it must happen within this zone before the seismicity rate in the area returns to its pre-mainshock level.
An earthquake that meets these two specific criteria is considered an aftershock.
Pointing out that Tuesday’s quake was an aftershock of the 2011 earthquake, the Japan Meteorological Agency also warned that another large quake could be expected within the next few days.
People in Japan have been warned to “remain cautious” for the next week.
The magnitude 7.4 quake was the largest earthquake in the region since the magnitude 9 quake in 2011 and some of its immediate aftershocks.
The Japan Meteorological Agency has said that Tuesday’s earthquake was an aftershock of the enormous, magnitude 9 quake in 2011, which killed more than 15,000 people and sent the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into meltdown.
New Zealand also experienced an earthquake on Tuesday, just over a week after a 7.8 magnitude quake rocked the South Island.
Tuesday’s was a magnitude 5.6 quake, which hit off the coast about 200km (120 miles) northeast of Wellington, the capital, at around 1.20pm local time (00.20 GMT).
There were no reports of injuries or serious damage, and no tsunami warning was issued.
There have been no reports of deaths or serious injuries caused by the earthquake, with Japanese media reporting around six people have suffered minor injuries.
All tsunami warnings have now been cancelled for Japan’s Pacific coast.
The Japan Meteorological Agency has confirmed:
Tsunami advisories have been lifted for the following coastal regions of Japan: Iwate prefecture, Miyagi prefecture, Fukushima prefecture, Ibaraki prefecture.
Slight sea-level changes may be observed in coastal regions, but no tsunami damage is expected.
Pay attention when fishing, swimming or engaging in other marine activities, as there may still be slight sea-level changes.
No major tsunami warnings, tsunami warnings or advisories are currently in effect.
Stock markets have rebounded after an early wobble, Agence France-Presse reports:
Asian markets rose Tuesday with energy stocks tracking a surge in oil prices, while Tokyo recovered an early sell-off caused by a huge earthquake off Japan’s northeast coast.
The yen strengthened against the dollar after the quake as investors sought out safe haven assets but gave up most of the gains as it emerged there was no major damage.
The dollar fell to as low as 110.27 yen before bouncing back to sit at 110.70 yen, with expectations it will extend gains on bets for higher US interest rates under Donald Trump’s presidency.
Japan’s Nikkei rebounded to end the morning slightly up and at its highest mark since January.
Japan has downgraded tsunami warnings issued after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake hit off the country’s east coast, as the risk of major damage appeared to pass.
The quake, which struck east of Fukushima prefecture at about 6am on Tuesday, prompted urgent warnings for people to leave low-lying areas in Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures as a series of tsunami waves hit the shore.
The warnings allowed for the possibility of waves of up to 3m (10 feet) along the country’s north-east Pacific coast, but the highest recorded wave, of 1.4m (4.6 feet), was observed at Sendai port shortly after 8am.
The tsunami warnings in Fukushima and Miyagi were downgraded to the less severe status of advisories nearly four hours after the initial quake, although people were still urged to stay away from coastal areas. Similar tsunami advisories also remained in place in Iwate and Ibaraki prefectures.
There were no reports of severe injuries from the quake, which struck at a depth of 30km (18.6 miles), according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. The same region was hit by a series of weaker quakes in the following few hours.
While immediate fears around the quake and tsunami appear to have calmed, many people in Japan have been shocked by the morning’s events, Agence France-Presse reports:
Residents along the coast were badly shaken.
“It was huge and lasted so long,” Akemi Anzai, from the city of Minamisoma which lies north of the Fukushima plant, said of the quake.
“The tsunami siren warning can be heard from the coastline,” she told AFP. “The ground is still shaking. I’m so scared. But my concern is rather the situation at the nuclear plant.”
Some evacuees took to Twitter to express their fears.
“I’m at a cultural centre where I evacuated during the previous disaster [in 2011],” one person tweeted in Japanese. “This reminds me of that.”
Shinzo Abe, the Japanese prime minister, has spoken about the earthquake from Buenos Aires, which he is visiting after attending the Apec summit in Peru:
A strong earthquake was observed off the coast of Fukushima a short while ago and the tsunami alerts were issued.
From my side, to the nation, we asked that proper and accurate information over the tsunami and the evacuation should be issued, and also to grasp and understand the condition of the damage as quickly as possible, and also to take proper emergency measures.
I called the chief cabinet secretary directly.
I would like to join hands closely with the local governments … and do our best to take appropriate emergency measures.
At the Fukushima Daini nuclear power plant, reactor number 3 spent fuel pool pump stopped operating at 6.10am as a result of the quake. Operation resumed at 7.49am and the plant is reported to be safe and “intact”.
So far, five people are reported to have suffered minor injuries in the quake.
Paul Somerville, chief geoscientist with risk frontiers at Australia’s Macquarie University, says:
This earthquake was a normal faulting earthquake that occurred at a shallow depth within the plate that overlies the Tohoku subduction zone, which generated the 2011 Mw 9.0 event.
It indicates east-west extension within the overriding plate, presumably due to the relaxation of horizontal stress that built up before the 2001 event. It occurred about 30km offshore of Fukushima.
It is very unlikely that this earthquake will have a large impact on Japan.
