Powerful Quake Rattled Off of Northeastern Japan

Image credit: US Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program

Mar 14, 2012; 11:42 AM ET

A 6.9-magnitude earthquake has rocked the seafloor off northeastern Japan

The Japan Meteorological Agency posted a Tsunami Advisory for parts of the Pacific coast of Hokkaido and northern Honshu, but the advisories were later canceled. The advised area included Iwate Prefecture, Honshu, which suffered heavy damage in the great March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

Smaller waves of 10 cm were reportedly measured, falling below estimates of 1/2 a meter.

There have been no immediate reports of damage.

The quake struck on Wednesday evening, local time, beneath deep water about 145 miles south of Kushiro, on the island of Hokkaido, or about 285 miles northeast of Sendai.

The focal depth was put at 16.5 miles, the USGS Earthquake Hazards website said.

Aftershocks of magnitudes 6.1 and 5.7 have rattled since the initial quake. The latest aftershock of magnitude 5.4 occurred at 9:40 p.m., local time.

 

Powerful Quake Rattled Off of Northeastern Japan