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A 7.3 magnitude earthquake has struck off the east coast of Japan, shaking a region hit by a powerful 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear collapse just weeks before the 10th anniversary of the disaster.
The earthquake on Saturday sent strong shaking along the coast and was felt strongly in the capital Tokyo, but did not trigger a tsunami warning.
Its epicenter was off the coast of Fukushima prefecture at a depth of 60 kilometers (36 miles), the Japan Meteorological Agency said. It shook the buildings for some time after its impact, shortly after 11 pm (14:00 GMT).
There were no immediate reports of significant damage, although local news broadcast images of a landslide on a highway. The Kyodo news agency reported that at least 30 people were injured, but gave no further details.
Roughly 950,000 homes were without power across the affected region, and blackouts appear to be concentrated in northeast Japan, including Fukushima and neighboring prefectures.
No anomalies were reported at the Fukushima nuclear plant, which melted in the wake of the 2011 disaster, or the Kahiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant, according to the owner of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings.
An ambulance is seen in front of a hotel after a strong earthquake in Iwaki, Fukushima prefecture, Japan, February 13, 2021 [Issei Kato/Reuters]
Aftershocks continued to shake the region in the hours afterward and officials warned local residents to be vigilant. A handful of people were reported to have sought refuge in evacuation centers.
“We are working quickly to gather information, but we do not have any details to announce yet. There were some unconfirmed reports of landslides, but we are still checking, ”Mikihiro Meguro, a Fukushima prefectural government official, told AFP news agency.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga was called into his office and broadcaster NHK said the government would establish a special liaison office to coordinate with the affected regions.
‘All messy’
Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato addressed reporters after midnight and said evaluations were underway.
“In terms of damage, casualties and structural damage are being assessed,” he said, adding that sections of the bullet train service had been suspended due to power outages.
“Surveys are being conducted at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant,” added Kato. “We have received reports that the Onagawa nuclear plant and the Fukushima Daichi nuclear plant show no anomalies.”
Images posted online showed broken glass in a store and items dropped from supermarket shelves.
My house in the Odaka District, Minamisoma City, Fukushima Prefecture, is a mess. pic.twitter.com/ySKFJFBgsX
– Miri Yu (@ yu_miri_0622) February 13, 2021
Renowned author Yu Miri, who lives in the Minamisoma city of Fukushima, tweeted a photo of her home, showing books, potted plants, and other belongings strewn across the floor.
“My house in Odaka, the city of Minamisoma, is a mess,” he wrote.
“I hear the ground rumble. And another earthquake, ”he tweeted about a reply.
Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the most seismically active areas on Earth. Japan accounts for about 20 percent of the world’s earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.
Triggered by a 9.1 magnitude earthquake, a tsunami slammed into the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in March 2011, overwhelming the reactor cooling systems and causing multiple meltdowns in the worst atomic disaster since Chernobyl in 1986.
Almost 20,000 people died or were missing and 160,000 lost their homes and livelihoods in the massive earthquake and tsunami, which sent radiation over a large area forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate.
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