Areas in northeastern Japan hard hit by the March 11 mega earthquake and ensuing tsunami were jolted again Sunday morning by a strong earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage from the 9:57 a.m. quake, which registered 4 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in 11 municipalities in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures including the city of Morioka in Iwate.
The agency initially put the quake's magnitude at 7.1 but later revised it to 7.3.
A warning for a tsunami of up to 50 centimeters was issued for Pacific coastal areas of the three prefectures immediately after the quake, but was lifted at 11:45 a.m.
Ten-cm tsunamis were observed at Ofunato port in Iwate at 10:44 a.m. and at Soma port in Fukushima at 11:11 a.m., the agency said, adding that another 10-cm tsunami reached Ofunato port at 11:20 a.m.
The town of Otsuchi in Iwate and the city of Higashimatsushima in Miyagi issued evacuation directives, while other local municipalities issued evacuation recommendations for their residents.
The coastal areas of the three prefectures were severely hit by the March disaster, which took the lives of more than 15,500 people. Nearly 5,400 people are still missing.
The quake measured 3 on the Japanese scale in other parts of the prefectures as well as some parts of Aomori, Akita and Yamagata prefectures and downtown Tokyo. Shaking was also felt in some parts of the Kinki region in western Japan and in the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido.
No abnormalities were reported by Tokyo Electric Power Co. at the Fukushima Daiichi and Daini nuclear power plants following the quake, according to the government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.
The utility, however, moved staff at the Daiichi plant, where workers are trying to contain a nuclear crisis triggered by the March disaster, and at the Daini plant to higher ground to prepare for possible tsunami, it said.
No abnormalities were reported either at Tohoku Electric Power Co.'s Onagawa nuclear power plant in Miyagi Prefecture.
The focus of the quake was about 180 kilometers off the coast of Miyagi Prefecture at a depth of about 34 kilometers, the agency said, adding the quake is considered to be an aftershock of the March mega quake.
East Japan Railways Co. said the Tohoku Shinkansen bullet train service was temporarily suspended immediately after the quake but resumed shortly afterwards.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage from the 9:57 a.m. quake, which registered 4 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in 11 municipalities in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures including the city of Morioka in Iwate.
The agency initially put the quake's magnitude at 7.1 but later revised it to 7.3.
A warning for a tsunami of up to 50 centimeters was issued for Pacific coastal areas of the three prefectures immediately after the quake, but was lifted at 11:45 a.m.
Ten-cm tsunamis were observed at Ofunato port in Iwate at 10:44 a.m. and at Soma port in Fukushima at 11:11 a.m., the agency said, adding that another 10-cm tsunami reached Ofunato port at 11:20 a.m.
The town of Otsuchi in Iwate and the city of Higashimatsushima in Miyagi issued evacuation directives, while other local municipalities issued evacuation recommendations for their residents.
The coastal areas of the three prefectures were severely hit by the March disaster, which took the lives of more than 15,500 people. Nearly 5,400 people are still missing.
The quake measured 3 on the Japanese scale in other parts of the prefectures as well as some parts of Aomori, Akita and Yamagata prefectures and downtown Tokyo. Shaking was also felt in some parts of the Kinki region in western Japan and in the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido.
No abnormalities were reported by Tokyo Electric Power Co. at the Fukushima Daiichi and Daini nuclear power plants following the quake, according to the government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.
No abnormalities were reported either at Tohoku Electric Power Co.'s Onagawa nuclear power plant in Miyagi Prefecture.
The focus of the quake was about 180 kilometers off the coast of Miyagi Prefecture at a depth of about 34 kilometers, the agency said, adding the quake is considered to be an aftershock of the March mega quake.
East Japan Railways Co. said the Tohoku Shinkansen bullet train service was temporarily suspended immediately after the quake but resumed shortly afterwards.
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