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Quake sparks tsunami fears
25/03/2007 08:48 - (SA)
Tokyo - A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.1 jolted the Sea of Japan coast area of central Japan on Sunday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
The quake, at 09:42 (00:42 GMT), was also felt in Tokyo.
It registered a higher 6 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in the Noto peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, about 300km from Tokyo.
A tsunami warning for waves of up to 50cm was issued for the prefecture.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
The focus of the tremor was at a depth of 50km below the seabed off the Noto Peninsula facing the Japan Sea, the agency said.
NHK said there were no irregularities at a nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture, and two others were closed for checks.
Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas. The country accounts for about 20% of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.
In October 2004, an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.8 struck the Niigata region in northern Japan, killing 65 people and injuring more than 3 000.
That was the deadliest quake since a magnitude 7.3 tremor hit the city of Kobe in 1995, killing more than 6 400.
- Reuters
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