Fresh Earthquake Triggered Tsunami Warning in Japan

http://blogs.forbes.com/yasidei/2011/04/07/new-japan-quake-cuts-power-to-nuclear...

Forbes...

New Japan Quake Cuts Power To Nuclear Plants
Apr. 7 2011 - 12:00 pm
The Fukushima 1 NPP

At 11:30 p.m. Thursday evening (9:30 a.m. EST) I was at home in Tokyo talking to a friend, Kazuhito Yanome, whose mom had put me up recently on a reporting trip to Sendai, near the epicenter of the March 11 earthquake that devastated a large swath of Japan.

Suddenly, Kazu’s cell phone started beeping. It was an earthquake warning.

“It looks like it’s coming” he said. It was an earthquake warning.

Kazu and I continued talking, and a couple minutes later my home in Tokyo started shaking. It was probably the worst after-shock since the major March 11 temblor. Kazu’s wife started to scream.

“Don’t worry. It is OK,” Kazu said, trying to calm her down.

The shake continued for some around minutes, slowly and roundly.

National broadcaster NHK announced that the quake measuring 7.4 on the Richter Scale was in fact the biggest since the March 11 disaster. The epicenter was 40 kilometers off the coast of Sendai, and blackout are now occurring in a wide area of Tohoku, NHK said.

At 12:10 a.m., Tokyo Electric Power Co, operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, announced that the latest quake has had no influence on the facility. Elsewhere the news is more worrisome. NHK says power cuts are occurring at the Onagawa nuclear power plant in Miyagi Pref., although radiation levels around the plant remain unchanged so far.

At 12:23 a.m. the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, an arm of the Japanese government, began holding an emergency press conference. An official said external sources of electricity have been cut to both the Higashi-Dori nuclear power plant in Aomori Pref., in northern Japan and the Rokkasho nuclear recycling plant, which I wrote in the latest issue of Forbes magazine . Both plants are reportedly operating normally via on-site emergency generators.

A tsunami warning is still in effect along the coast of Miyagi Pref. Despite Tokyo Electric’s assurances, the Fukushima plant warrants close attention, said an expert appearing on NHK.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13004896

BBC...

Japan hit by powerful earthquake
7 April 2011 Last updated at 11:33 ET Help

A tsunami warning issued for north-eastern Japan has now been lifted after an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1 struck off the east coast of Honshu triggering the alert.

Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant damaged in last month's quake and tsunami were evacuated.

The BBC's Roland Buerk described how the quake felt in Hanamaki in north-east Japan. Japanese television showed live pictures of Sendai as the quake hit.

A tsunami warning issued for north-eastern Japan after an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1 has now been lifted, Japanese NHK TV says.

Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant damaged in last month's quake and tsunami were evacuated.

However, officials at the plant said there was no detectable effect there or at other nuclear plants in the region.

The Japanese authorities ordered a general evacuation from the warning zone.

"Based on all available data, a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami is not expected," the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said on its website.

But it warned: "Earthquakes of this size sometimes generate local tsunamis that can be destructive along coasts located within 100km of the earthquake epicentre."

There was no threat to Hawaii, it added.
Aftershocks
Map

The quake struck at 2332 local time (1432 GMT) on Thursday, 118km (78 miles) north of Fukushima, 40km offshore.

First reports said it had a magnitude of 7.4 but that has now been revised downwards to 7.1, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

It struck at a depth of 49km. Last month's earthquake had a magnitude of 9.0 and struck at 32km deep.

USGS geophysicist Paul Caruso said Thursday's quake struck at about the same location and depth as the 11 March quake, the AP news agency reported.

Efforts to cool down three of the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant are continuing in a stable manner, reports NHK.

The quake was strong enough to shake buildings in Tokyo, 265km to the south.

"The earthquake was moving in a up and down motion," Miri Gono in Tokyo told the BBC by email. It started off with small shakes, then shook bigger. I was alone in my house with my brother and we were so scared... We took our bottles of water and hid under the table."

Japan's meteorological agency issued tsunami warnings and advisories for a stretch of coast 420km long, from Aomori prefecture in the north to Ibaraki prefecture in central Japan, just north of Tokyo.

Hundreds of aftershocks have shaken north-eastern Japan in the wake of the earlier earthquake, but few have measured higher than 7.0.

About 28,000 people are dead or missing, and hundreds of thousands were left homeless after the tsunami which ripped through north-eastern Japan.

Click on picture to watch video.

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/-New-Earthquake-Hits-Japan-Tsunami-Warning-I...

Voice of America...

New Japan Earthquake Brings Tsunami Warning

Martyn Williams | Tokyo April 07, 2011
Photo: AP
A Japanese woman reacts in Ishinomaki, Iwate Prefecture, northern Japan, after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck offshore, late Thursday, April 7, 2011.

A powerful 7.1 magnitude aftershock has rocked a large portion of eastern Japan, less than four weeks after an even stronger quake left thousands of people dead and caused a nuclear power disaster.

Japan's NHK television immediately broke into programming late Thursday night with news of the earthquake, which struck at at 11:32 in the evening, and to warn of a possible tsunami.

The announcer warns people near the coast to move immediately to higher ground. NHK also told people to stay away from buildings that were damaged by the 9.0 earthquake on March 11.

The earthquake was centered under the Pacific Ocean off Japan's eastern coast in the same general area as last month's earthquake and tsunami, which killed more than 12,000 people and left more than 14,000 missing.

That earthquake damaged a nuclear power plant on the coast in Fukushima Prefecture. Shortly after Thursday's aftershock, the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power, said there were no new immediate problems found at the Fukushima Daiichi power station.

TV images showed violent shaking in cities across northern Japan.

In Sendai city, the capital of Miyagi prefecture, lights went off as the power failed during the earthquake. The quake was felt far down the coast, and Tokyo experienced strong shaking that lasted for at least a minute.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-04-07/japan-earthquake-strik...

The Daily Beast...

Japan Earthquake Strikes, Tsunami Alert Lifted

Still reeling from its March 11 disaster, northeastern Japan has been hit with a massive aftershock, with fears of a tsunami and more coastal destruction. See photos and live updates from Twitter. Plus, full coverage of Japan.

A new earthquake has struck Japan, even as it continues to deal with the fallout of the last big one. Officials say a 7.1-magnitude tremor rocked the stricken nation’s northeastern coast—the same region hit by the March 11 disaster, which has left’s 15,000 people still missing. The epicenter of the quake—a powerful aftershock of the March 11 tremor—was about 41 miles off the coast of Sendai, which absorbed much of the destruction of the first strike.

HP Main - Second Earthquake Japan AP Photo

NHK reports that a tsunami alert was issued but then retracted; stilly, nearby residents have been advised to move to higher ground. The Pacific Tsunami Center expects "small effects" for Japan's coast, "possibly destructive but in a small local area." And luckily, officials at the damaged Fukushima power plant, which is still struggling to contain a nuclear crisis, reported "no problems" related to the new quake, though workers have been evacuated.

The Daily Beast is following several Twitter feeds out of Japan and will continue to post excerpts from them as the story unfolds.

@BlaisePlant (Location: Sendai)
Everything here is completely trashed again…Sirens all over...the city is black...phones are out...it was about 20 secs long... It hit us right under...Miyagi Kwn Sendai…Compared to the 9, this earthquake came out of nowhere and hit real strong as if metal was pounding against metal…A lot of people got hurt…fires here by my place

City hall is out...the city power seems to slowly be turning off everywhere....still shaking.less than a minute ago via Twitterrific Favorite Retweet ReplyBlaise Plant
BlaisePlant

@dicklp (Location: Tokyo)
In central Tokyo we experienced it as a long, slow, powerful side-to-side rocking. Probabky close to a minute, perhaps longer…Phew! NHK reports that there are no problems at Fukushima Dai-ichi or Dai-ni

In central Tokyo we experienced it as a long, slow, powerful side-to-side rocking. Probabky close to a minute, perhaps longer #Japan #quakeless than a minute ago via web Favorite Retweet ReplyRichard Lloyd Parry
dicklp

@daiwaka (Location: Tokyo)
Just had what felt like another massive quake in the tohoku region. I got tossed around my hotel room a little and my tv tipped over…I am in the southern, inland part of Iwate prefecture. Electricity has been knocked and people spilling out into the streets with suitcases…mask on. It might offer the wrong image to viewers. I haven't seen much damage during a quick survey around the neighborhood

Just had what felt like another massive quake in the tohoku region. I got tossed around my hotel room a little and my tv tipped over. I'mless than a minute ago via TweetDeck Favorite Retweet ReplyDaisuke Wakabayashi
daiwaka

@TomokoHosaka (Location: Ichinoseki, about 50 miles north of Sendai)
AP crew in Ichinoseki is ok. But that was seriously scary. I really thought our hotel was going to collapse.

AP crew in Ichinoseki is ok. But that was seriously scary. I really thought our hotel was going to collapse. #earthquakeless than a minute ago via Twittelator Favorite Retweet ReplyTomoko A. Hosaka
TomokoHosaka

@DannyChoo (Location: Tokyo)
Mobile phones in Iwate unusable and they got blackouts. The quake went on for a minute up there…Looks like Tsunami went limp before it hit…Looks like most of MIyagi prefecture is without electricity…Some of Yamagata is without electricity too.

Mobile phones in Iwate unusable and they got blackouts. The quake went on for a minute up there.less than a minute ago via web Favorite Retweet ReplyDanny Choo
dannychoo