7.4 quake hits off Japan; Tsunami warning issued | Fresh quake triggers tsunami warning in Japan | M7.4 quake jolts Miyagi Pref., vicinity

7.4 quake hits off Japan; Tsunami warning issued

A strong quake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.4 on Thursday evening jolted Japan's Miyagi Prefecture and its vicinity, which has been devastated by the March 11 earthquake, while the Japan Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami warning. The 11:32 p.m. quake measured upper 6 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in several parts of Miyagi Prefecture and lower 6 in Miyagi and Iwate prefectures, according to the agency.
Nuclear power plants in Ibaraki and Fukushima prefectures reported no irregularites.
Blackouts were reported in Fukushima and Yamagata prefectures.
Officials at Tokyo Electric Power Co., said the aftershock had caused "no problems" at the beleaguered Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex, and that workers had been evacuated to safe ground.
Thursday's aftershock was a 7.4-magnitude and hit 25 miles under the water and off the coast of Miyagi prefecture, officials said. The quake that preceded last month's tsunami was a 9.0-magnitude.
Buildings as far away as Tokyo shook for about a minute.
In Ichinoseki, inland from Japan's eastern coast, buildings shook violently, knocking items from shelves and toppling furniture, but there was no heavy damage to the buildings themselves. Immediately after the quake, all power was cut. The city went dark, but cars drove around normally and people assembled in the streets despite the late hour.
U.S. Geological Survey gave the preliminary magnitude as 7.4 and it struck off the eastern coast 60 miles from Sendai and 90 miles from Fukushima. It was about 215 miles from Tokyo.
The depth was 25 miles. Shallower quakes tend to be more destructive.
Hundreds of aftershocks have shaken the northeast region devastated by the March 11 earthquake, but few have been stronger than 7.0.

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7.4 quake hits off Japan; Tsunami warning issued | Fresh quake triggers tsunami warning in Japan | M7.4 quake jolts Miyagi Pref., vicinity