A strong earthquake measuring 6,8 on the Richter scale shook northern Japan early on Thursday, shattering windows, just a month after a deadly tremor in the same area, officials said.
The tremor struck at 0.26am local time in Iwate prefecture on the northern part of the main Japanese island of Honshu, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. It was centred 120km underground.
Fire engines and ambulances raced with sirens blaring in the northern city of Hachinohe, where officials said there were fears of a fire.
”I woke up with a big shock. I was wondering what the hell was going on,” said Takashi Kato, an official of Morioka, a city close to the epicentre.
”I haven’t received any immediate report of damage, but part of the city hall ceiling was damaged,” Kato said.
The central government set up an emergency office in Tokyo to handle the impact of the quake.
The quake was strong enough to shake buildings in the heart of the capital, about 500km to the south.
There were no immediate reports of casualties and no tsunami warning was issued.
The United States Geological Survey measured the quake at 6,8 on the moment magnitude scale.
”It was shaking a little at first and then suddenly we felt a big rolling feeling,” said Ryuichi Takedaka, an official at the Hirono town office near the epicentre.
”It continued rolling for a while,” he told public broadcaster NHK. ”I walked to the office and saw glass windows shattered at some houses along the way.”
Television footage showed office floors covered in paper that had been shaken from the desks.
”It was a strong quake but I didn’t see things fall from the shelves,” said Yasuko Tomabechi, a rice farmer in the northern city of Towada.
The quake struck near the epicentre of a powerful earthquake on June 14 that measured 7,2 on the Richter scale and which killed at least 13 people and left 10 others missing.
Japan endures about 20% of the world’s powerful earthquakes.
Nuclear power plants in the area were operating normally, Kyodo News said. — AFP
