Powerful quake rocks northern Japan, tsunami advisories issued

2011-03-09 10:11:58 GMT+7 (ICT)

TOKYO (BNO NEWS) -- A powerful earthquake struck off the coast of northeastern Japan on late Wednesday morning, seismologists said, and tsunami advisories were issued.

The 7.2-magnitude earthquake at 11.45 a.m. local time (0245 GMT) was centered about 169 kilometers (105 miles) east of Sendai, located on the nation's main island of Honshu. 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 advisory for a part of its Pacific coastline, warning that a tsunami of up to 0.5 meters (1.6 feet) could hit. Areas under advisory are the Pacific Coast of Aomori Pref., Iwate Pref., Miyagi Pref. and Fukushima Pref. A tsunami advisory is not as severe as a tsunami warning.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimated that approximately 5.9 million people may have felt moderate earthquake shaking, which could result in light damage. The quake was also felt in Tokyo.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-03-09

Surf's up!

thought by definition a tsunami was a really really big wave