Two dead, more than 100 injured after aftershock rocks northeastern Japan

[News_Editor]

Two dead, more than 100 injured after aftershock rocks northeastern Japan

2011-04-08 09:45:47 GMT+7 (ICT)

TOKYO (BNO NEWS) -- A powerful earthquake struck off the coast of northeastern Japan on late Thursday evening, officials said, killing at least 2 people and injuring more than 100 others. 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, the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture. It struck about 40 kilometers (24 miles) deep, making it a shallow earthquake, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), which measured the strength of the earthquake at 7.1 on the Richter scale, Thursday's earthquake was centered only about 20 kilometers (12 miles) west-southwest of the 9.0-magnitude earthquake that devastated Japan on March 11. "It most definitely is an aftershock," a seismologist said.

As of late Friday morning, Japanese police confirmed that at least 2 people had been killed in the latest earthquake and that more than 130 others were injured. Some buildings had collapsed or were damaged, but the region was already severely affected by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that left at least 12,700 people killed and more than 14,700 others missing.

Thursday's earthquake was widely felt across the country, as far away as Tokyo at a distance of some 330 kilometers (205 miles). The USGS estimated that some 161,000 people likely perceived 'very strong' shaking, while 6.5 million others may have felt moderate to strong shaking.

A tsunami warning that was initially issued for Miyagi Prefecture was canceled about 90 minutes after the jolt with no reports of tsunami waves. Small sea level changes were recorded, however, according to JMA, which noted the possibility of further aftershocks.

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