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© APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH
Tokyo – Northeast Japan has been hit by another strong earthquake. The tremor on Saturday evening (local time) with a magnitude of 7.2 off Miyagi Prefecture triggered a tsunami warning, which was lifted around two hours later. There were initially no reports of major damage or casualties. Local media reported only one injured person.
According to their own statements, the operating groups also did not detect any new damage in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear ruins or other nuclear power plants in the region. The torch relay for the Olympic Games planned for the summer will begin in Fukushima next week. The strong shock from 6.09 p.m. (10.09 CET) could also be felt in the Tokyo area.
It was only in the middle of last month that the same region in the northeast was shaken by a strong earthquake. Around 150 people were injured. The new quake struck the region just a week after the memory of the victims of the tsunami disaster ten years ago. At that time, a strong seaquake off the same coast triggered a huge tsunami that killed almost 20,000 people. A disaster occurred in the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
This time, too, the national meteorological authority had issued a tsunami warning and warned of tidal waves of up to one meter in height. As a result, some residents immediately fled to the hills. In some stores, goods fell off the shelves. Temporary requests from local authorities to citizens to get to safety were lifted in the evening (local time).
The earthquake center was about 60 kilometers deep off the coast of Miyagi prefecture, as the meteorological authority announced. It was relatively close to the focus of the earthquake in mid-February, which had a magnitude of 7.3 and hit the prefectures of Miyagi and Fukushima.
According to Japanese television, there was a temporary power outage in at least 200 households as a result of the new quake on Saturday. The operation of high-speed trains as well as elevators in some buildings was stopped automatically. (APA / dpa)