Two Massive Earthquakes Hit Japan, Tsunami Reported
By Ria Novosti
Japan was hit by a series of powerful quakes on Friday, with two major quakes measuring 8.8 and 7.1 on the Richter scale, according to Ria Novosti.
However, RFE/RL reports The U.S. Geological Survey says the earthquake had a magnitude of 8.9, upgrading earlier assessments. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake struck at a depth of 24 kilometers, off Honshu on Japan’s eastern coast.
Reports are that the largest earthquake first struck off the country’s largest Honshu Island’s eastern coast, 373 kilometers to the north-east of Tokyo. The second major tremor, measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale, occurred 505 kilometers to the north-east of Tokyo, reports Ria Novosti.
A 10-meter tsunami subsequently hit the Miyagi prefecture on Honshu, local television reported. Honsu’s Iwate prefecture was reported to have been hit by a 4.2-meter tsunami. Dozens of cars fell into the sea when a highway in Iwate was partly destroyed by the quake, Japan’s NHK TV channel reported.
There have been no reports on casualty figures.
Tremor from the first quake can still be felt in Tokyo, a RIA Novosti correspondent said. A tsunami warning has also been issued for another Honshu prefecture, Fukushima.
Authorities in Russia’s Far Eastern Sakhalin Island also issued a tsunami warning, the local emergencies services said in a statement. Coastal areas of three of the Sakhalin region’s districts may be hit by tsunami, the statement said.
Japan has been hit by a series of earthquakes in the past few days, including a 7.3-magnitude quake that occurred off Japan’s northeastern coast on Wednesday.
The orginal article by Ria Novosti has been edited to add current information
