Powerful earthquake strikes off northeastern Japan, tsunami warning canceled

Powerful earthquake strikes off northeastern Japan, tsunami warning canceled

2011-04-07 23:04:35 GMT+7 (ICT)

TOKYO (BNO NEWS) -- A powerful earthquake struck off the coast of northeastern Japan on late Thursday evening, seismologists and witnesses said, reportedly causing some damage and injuries. A tsunami warning was later canceled.

The 7.4-magnitude earthquake at 11.32 p.m. local time (1432 GMT) was centered about 66 kilometers (41 miles) east of Sendai. It struck about 40 kilometers (24 miles) deep, making it a shallow earthquake, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).

JMA initially issued a tsunami warning for Miyagi Prefecture and advised residents there to immediately evacuate to a safe place away from the coast. The warning, as well as tsunami advisories for the Pacific Coast of Aomori Prefecture, Iwate Prefecture, Fukushima Prefecture, and Ibaraki Prefecture, were canceled about 90 minutes after the earthquake with no reports of tsunami waves.

The earthquake was widely felt across the country, as far away as Tokyo at a distance of some 330 kilometers (205 miles). There were initial reports that some buildings had been damaged and that there were some injuries, but few details were immediately available.

A seismologist at the United States Geological Survey (USGS), which measured the strength of the earthquake at 7.1 on the Richter scale, said it was "most definitely" an aftershock to the 9.0-magnitude earthquake on March 11.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-04-07