Powerful 7.3 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Japan, Over Two Million Households Without Power
NEW DELHI, March 16: A powerful earthquake of 7.3-magnitude on the Richter Scale jolted east Japan on Wednesday night, rattling the capital Tokyo and prompting a tsunami advisory for parts of the northeast coast, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
The quake was centred off the coast of the Fukushima region at a depth of 60 kilometres. Shortly after it hit at 11:36 pm (1436 GMT) an advisory for tsunami waves of one metre was issued for parts of the coast.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries, but at least two million households were left without power, including 700,000 in Tokyo, electricity provider TEPCO said. In the north-eastern region, 156,000 households had no power, regional energy company Tohoku Electric Power said.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters the government was gathering information on the situation. “We will commit ourselves to gathering information, do our best to rescue those affected by the (quake) and communicate information appropriately,” he said.
TEPCO also said in a tweet that it was checking operations at the Fukushima nuclear plant that went into meltdown 11 years ago after a huge 9.0-magnitude quake hit off the eastern coast on March 11, 2011, triggering a tsunami and nuclear disaster that had left over 18,500 people dead or “missing.” The nuclear regulation authority said there were no abnormalities detected at Onagawa nuclear plant in north-eastern Miyagi prefecture.
(Manas Dasgupta)
