Powerful quake strikes off Japan, tsunami warning canceled

2010-12-22 02:22:47 GMT+7 (ICT)

TOKYO (BNO NEWS) -- Japan canceled a tsunami warning for some of its islands on early Wednesday morning after a powerful earthquake struck off its coast.

The 7.4-magnitude earthquake at 3.19 a.m. local time (1719 GMT Tuesday) was centered about 153 kilometers (95 miles) east of Chichi-shima on the Bonin Islands, located some 1049 kilometers (652 miles) south-southeast of Tokyo. It struck about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) deep, making it a shallow earthquake, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).

JMA immediately issued a tsunami warning for the Bonin Islands, which are also known in Japan as the Ogasawara Islands, but canceled it about 1.5 hour later. Instead, the warning for the Bonin Islands was replaced with a tsunami advisory.

Tsunami advisories are also in effect for the Izu Islands, Shizuoka Prefecture, the Pacific Coast of Aichi Prefecture, the southern part of Mie Prefecture, Wakayama Prefecture, Tokushima Prefecture, Kochi Prefecture, Miyazaki Prefecture, the Tanegashima and Yakushima areas, and the Amami Islands and Tokara Islands.

As of 4.15 a.m. JST, minor tsunamis of up to 30 centimeters (11.8 inches) were observed on the Bonin and Izu Islands. Similar waves, which are unlikely to cause damage, may continue for several hours.

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties as a result of the earthquake. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimated around 2,000 people may have observed moderate shaking and said damage or casualties were not expected.

In the first hours after the quake, the USGS reported a total of six moderate aftershocks in the region. Two of them had a magnitude of 5.6 on the Richter scale.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2010-12-22

Hmmm... I thought I felt something this morning...

TheWalkingMan

Hmmm... I thought I felt something this morning...

TheWalkingMan

That was just a big truck driving past.

Glad the earth moved for you...