TOKYO (Reuters) – A strong earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale hit the northeastern coast of Japan on Wednesday night and left hundreds of thousands of Tokyo residents without power.
The tremor occurred in the region devastated eleven years ago by a magnitude 9 earthquake and tsunami that triggered the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
According to the Japan Meteorological Institute (JMA), the earthquake occurred 57 kilometers off the coast, at a depth of 60 km. It reached in places an intensity above 6 on the Japanese scale, which means that it is impossible for a person to remain standing, and shook buildings in the capital.
The JMA issued a tsunami warning with the risk of one meter high waves.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has assembled a government crisis unit.
Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) said 2 million homes were without power, including 700,000 in Tokyo, and is checking the status of nuclear power plants including Fukushima, NHK reported.
No damage has so far been reported at these plants or oil refineries along the coast, according to government officials.
(Edited by Tokyo, French version Jean-Stéphane Brosse, edited by Jean-Michel Bélot)
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