7.4 - MAGNITUDE QUAKE HITS OFF JAPAN; TSUNAMI ALERT LIFTED - WITH RAW VIDEO
TOKYO — Japan's meteorological agency says it has lifted a tsunami warning for the northeastern coast 90 minutes after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck offshore.
The quake hit about 11:30 p.m. Thursday Japan time. It has rattled nerves nearly a month after the devastating earthquake and tsunami that flattened the northeastern coast.
Announcers on Japan's public broadcaster NHK had told residents in the northeast to move to higher ground away from the shore.
The warning was for the same area devastated by last month's tsunami, which is believed to have killed some 25,000 people and has sparked an ongoing crisis at a nuclear power plant.
Officials at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant say there was no immediate sign the aftershock caused new problems.
REPORTED EARLIER
TOKYO — Japan was rattled by a strong aftershock and tsunami warning Thursday night nearly a month after a devastating earthquake and tsunami flattened the northeastern coast.
Officials say Thursday’s aftershock was a 7.4-magnitude and hit 25 miles (40 kilometers) under the water and off the coast of Miyagi prefecture. The quake that preceded last month’s tsunami was a 9.0-magnitude.
Buildings as far away as Tokyo shook for about a minute.
U.S. officials say a the Japan quake is not expected to create a tsunami threat in Hawaii or the West Coast.
In Ichinoseki, inland from Japan’s eastern coast, buildings shook violently, knocking items from shelves and toppling furniture, but there was no heavy damage to the buildings themselves. Immediately after the quake, all power was cut. The city went dark, but cars drove around normally and people assembled in the streets despite the late hour.
U.S. Geological Survey gave the preliminary magnitude as 7.4 and it struck off the eastern coast 60 miles (100 kilometers) from Sendai and 90 miles (140 kilometers) from Fukushima. It was about 215 miles (345 kilometers) from Tokyo.
The depth was 25 miles (40 kilometers). Shallower quakes tend to be more destructive.
Hundreds of aftershocks have shaken the northeast region devastated by the March 11 earthquake, but few have been stronger than 7.0.
A Pacific Tsunami Warning Center evaluation of the quake said an oceanwide tsunami was not expected.
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