Quake hits Japan, nuclear plant stable
2012-02-14 10:01
Tokyo - A powerful earthquake rocked eastern Japan on Tuesday, but no
tsunami warning was issued and no damage was reported at the crippled Fukushima
nuclear plant.
The US Geological Survey said the 6.0-magnitude quake, with an epicentre 10km
deep, was centred 166km east-northeast of Tokyo, where correspondents said
buildings swayed.
Japan's meteorological agency also located the quake off the coast of
Ibaraki prefecture, south of the stricken plant.
A very small change of tidal level was forecast but was not expected to
cause any damage.
Nuclear plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) said the
stricken Fukushima Daiichi plant remained stable.
Aftershocks
Office buildings in Tokyo swayed for around a minute when the quake struck,
but there was no sign of panic in a city well accustomed to tremors.
A 9.0-magnitude earthquake in March 2011 triggered a monster tsunami that
killed more than 19 000 people and crippled the cooling systems at the Fukushima
plant, causing meltdowns in some of its reactors.
Radiation leaked into the air, soil and sea around the plant, forcing tens
of thousands of people to evacuate their homes.
A number of powerful aftershocks have shaken the region since the March quake.
Japan, located at the junction of four tectonic plates, experiences 20% of
the strongest quakes recorded on Earth each year.
