Seems like a string of a really really bad luck for Japan recently! This time it's a 6.6 magnitude quake and it hits North Eastern Japan. The tremor triggered a brief tsunami warning, and forced workers to evacuate the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant. It struck north-eastern Japan at 5:16 PM, local time, today.
Initially, the quake was perceived as 7.1 magnitude. But further update from IAEA revised it to 6.6 The epicentre of the quake was in Fukushima prefecture, and struck at a depth of just 13.1 km. The quake raised a tsunami warning. But the warning was lifted after 50 minutes.
Several minor quakes occurred following the major quake at 5:16. The agency is also warning of possible aftershocks with intensities of 6 plus or 6 minus. The agency says the magnitude 7.0 temblor is apparently an aftershock from the massive March 11th earthquake.
The quote from IAEA
The IAEA confirms that an earthquake occurred in Japan on 11 April at 08:16 UTC. The IAEA International Seismic Safety Centre has rated it as a 6.6 magnitude, revised from an initial 7.1 magnitude. The epicenter of the earthquake is 68 kilometres from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, 60 kilometres from the Fukushima Daini nuclear power plant, 61 kilometres from Tokai Daini nuclear power plant, 173 kilometres from Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, and 179 kilometres from Onagawa nuclear power plant. The epicenter was in land (37.01 N/ 140.48 E) at a depth of 13.1 km.
The cooling systems at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant were damaged in last month's disaster. Workers have been struggling to prevent several reactors from overheating, and avert a large-scale release of radiation.
Luckily, the plant has not sustained further damage in this quake. The evacuation zone around the plant is widened to 20 km radius, following the increase in radiation levels in the area.
The latest tremor struck shortly after the country stopped to observe a minute's silence to remember the nearly 28,000 dead or missing in the 11 March disaster. Survivors in shelters marked the moment the quake and tsunami hit at 1446 (0546 GMT) with bowed heads.
The quake killed one 46-year-old man and at least injured 5 people in Ibaraki and Tochigi prefectures.
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