Strong quake jolts northeastern Japan, no tsunami threat

Strong quake jolts northeastern Japan, no tsunami threat

2011-03-29 18:14:11 GMT+7 (ICT)

TOKYO (BNO NEWS) -- A strong earthquake struck off northeastern Japan on Tuesday afternoon, seismologists said, but no tsunami warnings were issued and there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

The 6.4-magnitude earthquake at 7.54 p.m. local time (1107 GMT) was centered about 126 kilometers (78 miles) east-northeast of the city of Iwaki in Fukushima Prefecture, where the troubled Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant is located. It struck about 18.2 kilometers (11.3 miles) deep, making it a shallow earthquake, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).

No tsunami warnings were immediately issued, although the earthquake was widely felt in northeastern Japan where people described it as a "very long" shake. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

Parts of Japan were devastated by an enormous 9.0-magnitude earthquake which struck off its northeastern coast on March 11, generating a large tsunami and killing at least 11,000 people and leaving more than 17,000 others missing. Tuesday's earthquake is believed to be an aftershock.

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