Japanese natural disaster triggers tsunami warning

U.S. Geological Survey measured the natural disaster at magnitude 6.9, while Japan’s Meteorological Agency placed it at magnitude 7.3 and at a depth of 6.2 miles.

The Meteorological Agency had earlier estimated the quake’s magnitude at 7.3 but upgraded it to 7.4.

The tremor brought back bad memories of the 2011 quake and tsunami that killed more than 20,000 people, reported CNN. Over 3,000 people fled to evacuation centers in Fukushima.

“The sound of sirens brought back memories of the huge quake (in 2011)”, said Tomomi Nagakubo, 48, who drove her vehicle to an evacuation center in Ibaraki Prefecture with her 13-year-old son. The agency reports, however, that we have no threat of a tsunami on the U.S. West Coast.

“I felt like the lessons of 3/11 were really taken to heart”, Krauth said.

TEPCO, the utility that operates the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, said a swelling of the tide of up to 1 meter (3 feet) was detected offshore.

Nissan halted work at its Fukushima plant, in the city of Iwaki, and evacuated the facility after the quake, reported The Guardian. Reactors at these nuclear plants have been offline.

Most nuclear power plants in Japan have been shut down since the 2011 disaster.

The United States Geological Survey said the 6.9 magnitude quake, at a shallow depth of 11.3 kilometres (seven miles), struck shortly before 6:00 am (2100 GMT on Monday) in the Pacific Ocean off Fukushima.

Tidal waves of 0.3-1.4 meters have been observed Tuesday morning at Onahama port and Soma port in Fukushima prefecture, Ofunato port and Kuji port in northeastern Iwate prefecture, Sendai port and Ishinomaki Ayukawa in northeastern Miyagi prefecture, Oarai port in eastern Ibaraki prefecture, and Katsuura in eastern Chiba prefecture. This number is pretty high; but it’s not going to bring buildings down.

The tremendous 9.0 magnitude quake that hit the area in 2011 was overshadowed only by the destructive waves that followed. It was not immediately known if there was damage or injuries, but officials urged residents to begin moving away from the coastline as soon as the warning was issued.

People living in several coastal prefectures were told to evacuate immediately. Though no “abnormalities” were reported, TEPCO has remained silent as to what caused the shutdown and if the cooling system suffered any damage that could lead to another unexpected shutdown.

While Tuesday’s quake was “quite large for an aftershock”, the quake it followed measured a massive 9.0 – one of the largest ever recorded – so it’s “at least two magnitudes smaller”. It killed some 18 000 people and caused a disaster at the Fukushima nuclear plant, where the cores of three reactors ( six in total) had entered into merger, displacing tens of thousands.

Iwaki now blasts warnings to every mobile phone in the area, sends email messages and broadcasts on local radio in addition to the older methods. The advisories have however been lifted in most areas.