A 7.3 magnitude earthquake rocked Japan on Wednesday evening off the coast of the Fukushima prefecture north of Tokyo, killing at least one and knocking out power for millions.
The quake also triggered a tsunami warning for several hours, with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warning residents to take shelter.
The warning was lifted early Thursday morning, Tokyo time. The quake happened in the same region where a 9.0 magnitude quake sparked a nuclear meltdown in March 2011.
A 7.3-magnitude earthquake rocked Japan. EPA/USGS HANDOUT
People shop in a store in a residential area during a power outage in Koto district in Tokyo on March 16, 2022. PHILIP FONG/AFP via Getty ImagesInformation on casualties and damage was incomplete on Wednesday. The city of Soma, some 190 miles north of Tokyo, reported one resident dead and 88 injured, according to Japanese news agency NHK Violent shaking was reported throughout eastern Japan, including in Tokyo.
More than 2 million homes were without electricity in the Tokyo region, according to Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings.
The utility, which operates the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant at the center of the 2011 meltdowns, said that while coolant levels temporarily dropped in two storage pools for spent nuclear fuel as a result of the quake, the situation had been remedied.
Items lie on the floor at a convenience store on March 16, 2022, after a 7.3-magnitude earthquake. STR/JIJI PRESS/AFP via Getty Images
The earthquake triggered a tsunami warning. PHILIP FONG/AFP via Getty ImagesJapan’s Air Self-Defense Force said it had scrambled fighters from a nearby base to do a fly-by assessment of damage in the region.
