Moderate earthquake hits northeastern Japan

[kong]

Moderate earthquake hits northeastern Japan
DENVER (AP) — A moderate quake with a magnitude of 5.4 has struck northeastern Japan near the zone devastated last year by the massive earthquake and tsunami that triggered a nuclear crisis.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage in the quake Saturday. No tsunami warning was issued.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the earthquake struck at 2:25 a.m. local time Saturday (1725 GMT) about 24 miles (40 kilometers) north of Mito, the capital of the Ibaraki Prefecture on the main island of Honshu.

The area neighbors the Fukushima Prefecture, where a quake and tsunami in March left more than 21,000 people dead or missing.

[kong]

Strong quakes shake Japan, but no apparent damage
TOKYO (AP) — A series of earthquakes rattled Tokyo and northeast Japan late Wednesday evening but caused no apparent damage or injury in the same region hit by last year's devastating tsunami.

The strongest tremor, off Hokkaido island, was 6.8 magnitude and caused tidal changes that prompted some communities to issue evacuation orders or tsunami advisories to residents nearest the coast.

A swelling of 20 centimeters (8 inches) was observed in the port of Hachinohe in Aomori, northern Japan, about one hour later. Smaller changes were reported in several locations on Hokkaido island and Aomori prefecture.

The Japan Meteorological Agency lifted all tsunami advisories about an hour and half later.

The earthquake felt in Tokyo was magnitude 6.1 and centered just off the coast of Chiba, east of Tokyo, at a rather shallow 10 kilometers (6 miles) below the sea surface.

The town of Otsuchi in Iwate prefecture, where more than 800 died in last year's tsunami, issued an evacuation order to coastal households as a precaution after the 6.8 quake, said prefectural disaster management official Shinichi Motoyama. No damage or injury was reported, he said.

Iwate was heavily damaged by last year's earthquake and tsunami. Thousands of aftershocks have shaken the region since then, nearly all of them of minor or moderate strength.

The magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011 left some 19,000 people dead or missing.

Japan marked the first anniversary of the disasters on Sunday, as the country still struggles to rebuild.

[kong]

Small tsunami hits Japan after 6.8 quake
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A minor tsunami hit Japan's northeastern coastline Wednesday, NHK television reported, after a strong earthquake rocked the region nearly a year on from Japan's worst post-war natural disaster.

The 10-centimetre (four inch) wave and 6.8 magnitude quake, which struck some 210 kilometres (130 miles) off the northern island of Hokkaido, prompted local authorities to issue an evacuation warning for coastal residents.

Japan's meteorological agency had initially said the tsunami could be as high as 50 centimetres, but US monitors said there was no Pacific-wide tsunami threat.

The warning comes after a 9.0-magnitude earthquake triggered a monster tsunami on March 11 last year that killed more than 19,000 people and crippled Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant, sparking the world's worst atomic accident in a generation.

There were no reports of damage at nuclear facilities in the area affected by Wednesday's 6.8 quake, the Kyodo news agency said.

The meteorological agency also warned the tsunami could reach the Kuril islands, off Hokkaido, which Russia has controlled since Japan's surrender at the end of World War II.

On Sunday, Japan fell silent to remember last year's tragedy with tearful families gathering in towns and villages across the country's shattered northeast to remember those they lost as the towering waves smashed ashore.

Tens of thousands were forced to evacuate from a 20-kilometre exclusion zone immediately around the Fukushima plant, while many families with small children moved away from the prefecture completely.

On Sunday's anniversary, thousands protested against nuclear power in demonstrations held across the world.

Japan has temporarily shut most of its 54 commercial nuclear reactors.
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