6.8 Earthquake Shakes Fukushima
Jul 12, 2014
A strong earthquake hit Japan's northern coast Saturday near the Fukushima nuclear power plant crippled in the 2011 tsunami.
Japan's Meteorological Agency said the magnitude-6.8 quake struck 6 miles below the sea surface just off the coast of Fukushima. The 4:22 a.m. local time quake rattled buildings in Tokyo, about 120 miles southwest of the epicenter.
A small tsunami reached the coast of Ishinomaki Ayukawa and Ofunato about 50 minutes after the quake. Smaller waves were observed at several other locations along the coast, but changes to the shoreline were not visible on television footage aired by public broadcaster NHK.
Eight towns devastated by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, including Rikuzentakata, Higashi Matsushima and Otsuchi, issued evacuation advisories to thousands of households along the northern coast, along with schools and community centers.
All tsunami and evacuation advisories were lifted about two hours after the quake.
Fukushima Dai-ichi - the nuclear plant decimated in the 2011 disaster - and two other nuclear power plants, along with other nuclear facilities along the coast, claimed their reactors and fuel storage pools were being cooled safely, according to Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority.
Plant operators Tokyo Electric said there were no immediate reports of abnormality after the quake, according to Kyodo news agency.
The meteorological agency advised people to leave the coast immediately, while Japan's public broadcaster NHK said some local authorities issued evacuation advisories to their residents.
The 2011 disaster killed about 19,000 people and triggered multiple catastrophic meltdowns at the Fukushima nuclear facilitiy. More than 100,000 people have been displaced by radiation contamination in communities near the nuclear plant.
No one is coming to save us. Join with us.
| The world is a pretty dark place right now. Economic inequality off the charts. The climate emergency. Supreme Court corruption in the U.S. and corporate capture worldwide. Democracy in many nations coming apart at the seams. Fascism threatens. It’s enough to make you wish for some powerful being to come along and save us. But the truth is this: no heroes are coming to save us. The only path to real and progressive change is when well-informed, well-intentioned people—fed up with being kicked around by the rich, the powerful, and the wicked—get organized and fight for the better world we all deserve. That’s why we created Common Dreams. We cover the issues that corporate media never will and lift up voices others would rather keep silent. But this people-powered media model can only survive with the support of readers like you. Can you join with us and donate right now to Common Dreams’ Mid-Year Campaign? |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
A strong earthquake hit Japan's northern coast Saturday near the Fukushima nuclear power plant crippled in the 2011 tsunami.
Japan's Meteorological Agency said the magnitude-6.8 quake struck 6 miles below the sea surface just off the coast of Fukushima. The 4:22 a.m. local time quake rattled buildings in Tokyo, about 120 miles southwest of the epicenter.
A small tsunami reached the coast of Ishinomaki Ayukawa and Ofunato about 50 minutes after the quake. Smaller waves were observed at several other locations along the coast, but changes to the shoreline were not visible on television footage aired by public broadcaster NHK.
Eight towns devastated by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, including Rikuzentakata, Higashi Matsushima and Otsuchi, issued evacuation advisories to thousands of households along the northern coast, along with schools and community centers.
All tsunami and evacuation advisories were lifted about two hours after the quake.
Fukushima Dai-ichi - the nuclear plant decimated in the 2011 disaster - and two other nuclear power plants, along with other nuclear facilities along the coast, claimed their reactors and fuel storage pools were being cooled safely, according to Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority.
Plant operators Tokyo Electric said there were no immediate reports of abnormality after the quake, according to Kyodo news agency.
The meteorological agency advised people to leave the coast immediately, while Japan's public broadcaster NHK said some local authorities issued evacuation advisories to their residents.
The 2011 disaster killed about 19,000 people and triggered multiple catastrophic meltdowns at the Fukushima nuclear facilitiy. More than 100,000 people have been displaced by radiation contamination in communities near the nuclear plant.
A strong earthquake hit Japan's northern coast Saturday near the Fukushima nuclear power plant crippled in the 2011 tsunami.
Japan's Meteorological Agency said the magnitude-6.8 quake struck 6 miles below the sea surface just off the coast of Fukushima. The 4:22 a.m. local time quake rattled buildings in Tokyo, about 120 miles southwest of the epicenter.
A small tsunami reached the coast of Ishinomaki Ayukawa and Ofunato about 50 minutes after the quake. Smaller waves were observed at several other locations along the coast, but changes to the shoreline were not visible on television footage aired by public broadcaster NHK.
Eight towns devastated by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, including Rikuzentakata, Higashi Matsushima and Otsuchi, issued evacuation advisories to thousands of households along the northern coast, along with schools and community centers.
All tsunami and evacuation advisories were lifted about two hours after the quake.
Fukushima Dai-ichi - the nuclear plant decimated in the 2011 disaster - and two other nuclear power plants, along with other nuclear facilities along the coast, claimed their reactors and fuel storage pools were being cooled safely, according to Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority.
Plant operators Tokyo Electric said there were no immediate reports of abnormality after the quake, according to Kyodo news agency.
The meteorological agency advised people to leave the coast immediately, while Japan's public broadcaster NHK said some local authorities issued evacuation advisories to their residents.
The 2011 disaster killed about 19,000 people and triggered multiple catastrophic meltdowns at the Fukushima nuclear facilitiy. More than 100,000 people have been displaced by radiation contamination in communities near the nuclear plant.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.