Tsunami alert as 6.8 earthquake hits Japan

Published time: March 14, 2012 09:29
Edited time: March 14, 2012 22:59
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake has struck off the northeastern coast of Japan

A magnitude 6.8 earthquake has struck off the northeastern coast of Japan almost exactly one year after a devastating tsunami killed thousands.

­The most recent quake was at a depth of some 10 km. Japan’s nuclear facilities are reportedly unscathed.

A tsunami warning was issued for the coastal Aomori and Iwate prefectures as well as the central and eastern Hokkaido coast. Authorities advised area residents to evacuate to higher ground.

According to the NHK TV channel two waves measuring 20 and 10 cm respectively reached the Japanese coast. The tsunami alert was later canceled.

Another strong earthquake, measuring at a 6.1 magnitude, has hit the Tokyo region just hours after a 6.8 offshore tremor.

Wednesday’s tremor came just days after Japan marked the anniversary of the March 11, 2011 disaster. At the time, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake, the strongest seismic event to ever hit the country, triggered a massive tsunami. 

The giant wave killed 15,900 and smashed the Fukushima nuclear power plant, causing the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.

Comments (19)

Cures Riches 14.03.2012 19:02

If a group of spirit buddies were vowing that a tsunami wouldn't devastate Japan again then quite automatically the great spirit of Berlu-sconi and so on are earthquakes to scare the sh/t out of those that complain.  I come from a long history of never buddies. The rape has still been hell though...   ; That boot keeps on kicking doesn't it. 

+1

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Hang in there Japan! 14.03.2012 15:47

Matt (unregistered) wrote in #17
Um... cm? Is it just me or does that seem like it has to be a mistake. Waves of 20 and 10 cm? Wouldn't that be smaller than normal waves? Ahhh- I mourn the art of reporting."""""""""" """""""""""""""""""" """""""""""""""""""" Maybe something got lost in translation? It was my understanding that there was supposed to be the possibility of up to 0.5 meter increase to wave activity.  A 10 to 20 cm incraese is still an increase. There is a lot of force behind those cm. Slope of the shoreline is a big factor and different areas will experience different effects.

+3

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Matt (unregistered) 14.03.2012 15:15

Um... cm? Is it just me or does that seem like it has to be a mistake. Waves of 20 and 10 cm? Wouldn't that be smaller than normal waves? Ahhh- I mourn the art of reporting.

+2

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