7.1 Earthquake Off The Coast Of Fukushima

An earthquake registering a preliminary magnitude 7.1 struck off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture early Saturday morning and the Japan Meteorological Agency issued an alert for tsunami of 1 meter high for Japan’s northeastern Pacific coast but lifted it about two hours later.

The agency urged people to stay away from waterfront areas after the 2:10 a.m. quake. The tsunami alert covered Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima, Ibaraki and Chiba prefectures. It was lifted at 4:05 a.m.

No injuries have been reported in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures after the 2:10 a.m. quake, according to police.

No abnormality was reported at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, which was crippled by the magnitude 9.0 quake in March 2011, according to Tokyo Electric Power Co. Workers, however, were ordered to evacuate from waterfront areas.

Tohoku Electric Power Co. said no abnormality has been confirmed at its Onagawa nuclear power plant.

Evacuation advisory was issued for coastal residents in Higashimatsushima, Miyagi Prefecture, Ofunato, Kamaishi, Rikuzentakata and Iwaizumi in Iwate Prefecture.

The agency said 40 cm high waves were observed in Kuji Port, Iwate Prefecture and Soma, Fukushima Prefecture. It also reported 30 cm waves in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, and 20 cm waves in Ofunato in Iwate.

The focus was roughly 10 km underground in the Pacific Ocean around 290 kilometers east-southeast of Oshika Peninsula, the agency said.

The quake registered a moderate intensity of 4 on the Japanese seismic scale of 7 in Fukushima, Miyagi, Ibaraki and Tochigi prefectures. Tokyo marked intensity 3.

The agency revised the magnitude to 7.1 from 6.8. It said the latest quake is an aftershock of the 2011 quake.