7.4 magnitude earthquake jolts Japan, creates Tsunami

Tokyo: A strong earthquake of magnitude 7.4 struck northern Japan on Tuesday disrupting cooling functions at a nuclear plant and generating a tsunami.

"No loss of lives or properties were reported", said Japanese Minister for Disaster Management Jun Matsumoto.

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According to the Japan Meteorological Service," the earthquake was felt in Tokyo and was centred off the coast of Fukushima prefecture at a depth of about 10 kilometres and also a tsunami of up to 1.4 metres had been observed around Sendai, about 70 kilometres north of Fukushima, with smaller waves hitting ports elsewhere along the coast. Four hours after the earthquake struck, the country lifted the tsunami warning for its northeastern coast. The earlier warning was for waves of up to 3 meters (10 feet)."

The Japan Meteorological Agency also urged residents to shift to higher ground.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii said," the tsunami threat had now largely passed but sea level fluctuations may continue along some coasts of Japan over the next few hours."

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