5.5 Magnitude Quake Hits Japan Anew, No Tsunami Warning Raised, Aftershocks to Continue
Japan has been hit again by a 5.5 magnitude earthquake on Monday.
The US Geological Survey said the temblor registered at a depth of 26km at 3:13am (0513 AEDT) on Monday, about 324km east of the town of Namie.
No tsunami warning was raised by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre for this particular temblor, which occurred two days after the same east coast was stricken by a powerful 7.1-magnitude undersea quake on Saturday.
The 7. 1 magnitude quake struck northeastern Japan at around 2:11 am local time.
The weekend's temblor's epicenter, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), was located at 37.2 degrees north latitude and 144.6 degrees east longitude. With a depth of 10 kilometres, the agency said it struck about 290 kilometres east of the Miyagi prefecture.
The quake was so strong it caused a small tsunami, creating pandemonium to the already traumatised people of Japan. The operator of the Fukushima nuclear power plant immediately announced an immediate evacuation order for its workers in anticipation of higher water surges from possible succeeding tsunamis.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), operator of the 2011 tsunami-stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant, assured residents and the international community no new problems were found at the facility after the relatively small tsunamis.
"There were few workers on the waterfront as it was night time. There was no impact of the quake and tsunami on the plant," an unidentified spokesman told local media.
Residents in Tokyo felt the 7. 1 magnitude quake. It likewise registered as magnitude 4 on Japan's seismic scale of 7 in some parts in Tohoku area.
The height of Saturday's tsunamis ranged from 20cm to as high as 55cm in one place.
JMA had cancelled all tsunami alerts. However, it warned residents aftershocks will continue to occur.
"We have lifted all tsunami alerts but the sea level may continue to show small changes for half a day or so please be very careful when working by the sea," Keiji Doi, JMA's director of quake predictions, told an early morning news conference.
"There is the possibility that aftershocks with a magnitude of around seven will occur once in a while."