Strong quake hits N. Japan, tsunami warning issued

[seemslikeadream]

Strong quake hits N. Japan, tsunami warning issued


TOKYO, March 9 (Reuters) - A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.2 hit off the coast of northeastern Japan on Wednesday, the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA) said, but there were so far no reports of damage from the quake.

A tsunami advisory of up to 50 cm (about 20 inches) was issued for northeastern Japan after the quake hit around 11:45 a.m. (0245 GMT), JMA said.

"First I felt a jolt that pushed from underneath, then a big sideways tremor that lasted for about 20 seconds," Yoshiyuki Sato, an official at Kurihara City in Miyagi prefecture, about 300 km (186 miles) northeast of Tokyo, told Reuters.

"The tremor was relatively big but things did not fall off the shelves in the city government building," he said.

The focus of the tremor was 10 km (6 miles) below the surface of the earth, off the coast of Aomori prefecture, public broadcaster NHK said.

An official at the National Police Agency said there was no information on damage from the quake so far.

Tohoku Electric Power (9506.T) said its Onagawa nuclear plant was operating normally after the quake. Tokyo Electric Power (9501.T) also said there was no impact on its power plants in the region.

Bullet trains resumed running in northeastern Japan after stopping briefly, Kyodo news agency reported.

Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas. The country accounts for about 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater. (Reporting by Yoko Kubota, Shinichi Saoshiro and Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Nathan Layne and Chris Gallagher)

Japan, is located on the "Pacific Ring of Fire" and dotted with volcanoes, and Tokyo is situated in one of its most dangerous areas.

The mega-city sits on the intersection of three continental plates -- the Eurasian, Pacific and Philippine Sea plates -- which are slowly grinding against each other, building up enormous seismic pressure.

The government's Earthquake Research Committee warns of a 70 percent chance that a great, magnitude-eight quake will strike within the next 30 years in the Kanto plains, home to Tokyo's vast urban sprawl.

The last time a "Big One" hit Tokyo was in 1923, when the Great Kanto Earthquake claimed more than 140,000 lives, many of them in fires. In 1855, the Ansei Edo quake also devastated the city.

More recently, the 1995 Kobe earthquake killed more then 6,400 people.

Small quakes are felt every day somewhere in Japan and people take part in regular drills at schools and workplaces to prepare for a calamity.

Families are urged to keep quake survival kits at home, quake alerts can be sent via mobile phones and parks and schools are sign-posted as quake shelters.

Nuclear power plants and bullet trains are designed to automatically shut down when the earth rumbles and many buildings have been quake-proofed with steel and ferro-concrete at great cost in recent decades.

[seemslikeadream]

just sayin' I told ya so, nobody noticed Tuesday night

[dqueue]

No doubt. I awoke to hear the reports this morning. Then, I flashed to the realization, "I ready about a Japan earthquake EARLIER this week." I convinced myself I must have been dreaming. Alas, I did read about it.

Uncanny. Thanks!