TOKYO (GNB): A powerful quake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.2 shook eastern and northeastern Japan on Saturday evening, US National Tsunami Warning Center reported on Saturday.
The tsunami warning is for Hachinohe and Niligata, Japan, according to the National Tsunami Warning Center.
The government warned tsunami of up to 1 meter could hit parts of Miyagi Prefecture’s coastal areas.
According to the U.S. National Tsunami Center, the quake was centred 34 km (21 miles) east of Ishinomaki at a depth of 60 km.
The Kyodo news agency said its epicenter was off the coast of Miyagi prefecture, which was heavily damaged during the huge earthquake and tsunami of 2011.
The shaking started just before 6:10 pm local time (2:40 pm IST), AP reported.
The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami warning for Japan on Saturday after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck off the coast of Miyagi prefecture.
The first tsunami waves of up to 1 meter (3.2 feet) hit land shortly after the earthquake, local television channel NHK reported.
Officials said that there were no immediate reports of injury or major damage. At least 200 households were left without electricity.
The Tohoku Electric Power Co reportedly shut down its Onagawa nuclear plant as it checked for any irregularities, while the Tokyo Electric Power checked on the condition of the Fukushima Dai-Ichi power station, which was wrecked by the 2011 quake.
Several train services in the region were also suspended as a precautionary measure.
The US Consulate in Sapporo told people in the area to “seek higher ground.”
A video shared by NHK showed how the earthquake was felt in Sendai city in Miyagi prefecture.
It also came just over a week after northeastern Japan marked the 10th anniversary of the devastating quake and tsunami which triggered the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
The quake registered upper 5 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in parts of Miyagi, smaller than the mid-February quake which recorded upper 6 in Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, Kyondo news reported.
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