Japan earthquake injures 100 people, triggers landslide ahead of 10-year tsunami anniversary - ABC News

A 7.3-magnitude earthquake has struck off the eastern coast of Japan, injuring more than 100 people, leaving almost a million homes without power and causing a landslide.

Key points:

• It struck the same areas hit by the more powerful 2011 earthquake and tsunami
• Japan's meteorological agency said it was an aftershock of the earthquake a decade ago
• The earthquake shook buildings in Tokyo hundreds of kilometres away

It hit the Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures, the same areas that were devastated by a more powerful earthquake that triggered a tsunami and killed over 18,000 people just under 10 years ago, causing a meltdown at a nuclear power plant.

The latest earthquake was recorded at 11:08pm local time on Saturday at a depth of 60 kilometres in the Pacific Ocean.

It triggered a landslide in Fukushima and shook buildings in the Japanese capital Tokyo hundreds of kilometres away.

The earthquake triggered a landslide in Fukushima, blocking a major highway.(AP: Hironori Asakawa)

The latest incident did not cause a tsunami, and power had been restored to most homes by Sunday morning, local authorities said.

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But several thousand households remained without water, and residents lined up with plastic jugs to receive water from trucks.

According to public broadcaster NHK, 104 people were injured, most of them spraining their ankles while falling on stairs or getting cut by broken glass.

Tokyo Electric Power, which runs the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant that was hit in the 2011 disaster, said the water used to cool fuel rods near the reactors had spilled because of the shaking.

But there were no radiation leaks or other irregularities, the company tweeted.

Japan's Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said it would take several days before the full damage to the nation's cities and towns would be known.

"Casualties and structural damage are being assessed," Mr Kato said.

Video shared on social media showed boxes, books and other items scattered on floors.

Although there was no tsunami threat, Japanese officials warned of possible aftershocks.(AP: Jun Hirata)

Experts warned of possible aftershocks.

Shinkansen bullet trains to much of northern Japan were suspended due to damage along the tracks.

Service along one line was not expected to be restored until at least Tuesday.

Fukushima bore the brunt of the 7.3 magnitude earthquake 10 years after the 2011 disaster.(AP: Tomomi Miura)

The March 11, 2011, earthquake in Japan that set off a massive tsunami led to the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years.

Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas.

Japan accounts for about 20 per cent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.

Houses were damaged when the earthquake struck just before midnight on Saturday evening.(AP: Jun Hirata)

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2021-02-14 03:57:00Z
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