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A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck northern Japan off the coast of Fukushima prefecture on Wednesday night (local time) and a tsunami warning was issued.
The quake, which also shook buildings and knocked out power in parts of Tokyo, struck at around 11:36 p.m. local time, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. The intensity of the tremor was estimated to be higher than 6 on Japan’s Shindo scale of 7 in parts of Miyagi prefecture, local news agency NHK reported. A 1-meter tsunami warning has been issued for northern Japan.
Tokyo Electric Power reported that it is reviewing any irregularities at its facilities, including its Dai-ichi and Dai-ni nuclear power plants in Fukushima, while the East Japan Railway said some public transport services have stopped.
The earthquake occurred in the same region that was devastated by a magnitude 9 earthquake that triggered a tsunami and nuclear disaster.
The whole building was shaking
The quake was felt very strongly across a wide swath of eastern, central, and western Japan.
“The whole building was shaking and things were falling off the shelves,” Miho Iida, a 26-year-old resident of a single-family home in Kawaguchi, about 20 kilometers north of Tokyo.
Iida assured that the tremor reminded him of the devastating earthquake of March 11, 2011.
Videos of Wednesday night captured by security cameras circulate on the network in which strong shakes of urban furniture, subway cars, and offices are observed.
Several people were hospitalized in the city of Soma (Fukushima prefecture) and at the moment the authorities have not offered figures of injuries.
A high-speed train (Shinkansen) derailed between Fukushima and Shiroishizao stations with no injuries reported.
In addition, several highway sections have been closed in the east of the country.
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