Severe earthquake hits Fukushima, Japan, injuring dozens – 2/13/2021 – Worldwide

A strong earthquake that hit Japan’s east coast on Saturday left dozens injured and caused a blackout. The 7.3 magnitude earthquake, however, did not cause much damage or trigger tsnunami warnings.

The epicenter was offshore, in the Fukushima region, at a depth of 60 km, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. On land, buildings shook for some time after the earthquake at 11:08 p.m. local time (11:08 a.m. in Brasilia). The effects were also felt in Tokyo, more than 200 kilometers away.

Subsequently, there was a 4.7 magnitude aftershock, the agency said.

At least 20 were injured, according to information from the Kyodo news agency. About 950,000 homes remained without electricity, Japanese government spokesman Katsunobu Kato said. The power outages appear to be concentrated in northeastern Japan, including Fukushima and cities in the region.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga returned to his office to closely monitor control operations, and the government has organized joint coordination with the affected region.

There were no irregularities at the Daiichi and Daini nuclear power plants in Fukushima, nor at the Kahiwazaki-Kariwa plant, said the Tokyo Electric Power Company, responsible for the sites. Kato said there was no damage to the Onagawa plant either.

Saturday’s earthquake struck Japan just weeks before the tenth anniversary of the earthquake that devastated the northeast of the country and triggered a massive tsunami that led to the world’s worst nuclear crisis in 25 years, centered on the Daiichi power station. More than 18,000 people died as a result of the tragedy.

Japan is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, one of the regions with the highest earthquake activity on the planet. The country concentrates 20% of earthquakes of magnitude greater than 6.

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