UPDATE 1 -- Powerful earthquake strikes off northeast Japan, no damage

[News_Editor]

UPDATE 1 -- Powerful earthquake strikes off northeast Japan, no damage

2011-07-10 10:07:05 GMT+7 (ICT)

TOKYO (BNO NEWS) -- A powerful earthquake struck off the northeastern coast of Japan on late Sunday morning, seismologists said, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

The 7.1-magnitude earthquake at 10.57 a.m. local time (0057 GMT) was centered about 212 kilometers (131 miles) east of Sendai, the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture. It struck about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) deep, making it a shallow earthquake, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).

Tremors with an intensity of 4 on the Japanese seismic scale of 0 to 7 were felt in several areas near the coast, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. The crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant was briefly evacuated as a precaution.

About three minutes after the earthquake, the Japanese government issued tsunami advisories for the coasts of Iwate Prefecture, Miyagi Prefecture, and Fukushima Prefecture. They were later canceled after small tsunami waves of up to 10 centimeters (3.9 inches) were observed, causing no damage.

Japan is still recovering from an enormous 9.0-magnitude earthquake which struck off the coast of northeastern Japan on March 11, generating a large tsunami. The earthquake and resulting tsunami left at least 15,538 people killed while 7,060 others remain missing and feared dead.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-07-10

[mpoppel]

The magnitude of this quake has now been upgraded to 7.3.. fortunately no damage or casualties.