Liz Senior
JF-Expert Member
- Apr 19, 2007
- 483
- 53
Another strong aftershock hits Japan
Updated 8 minutes ago
The 7.1-magnitude aftershock comes one month after the devastating magnitude 9.0 earthquake.
A large earthquake has shaken buildings in Japan's capital Tokyo and a tsunami warning has been issued for the coastal Ibaraki prefecture.
The 7.1-magnitude quake at 5:16pm (local time) comes one month to the day after the devastating magnitude 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami left 28,000 people dead or missing.
The Japan Meteorological Agency measured the quake at a depth of about 10 kilometres and has issued tsunami advisories for the Miyagi, Fukushima, and Chiba prefectures as well as the Kujukuri and Sotobo areas.
It is advising people in Ibaraki prefecture to evacuate immediately to a safe place away from the shore.
The agency says tsunamis are expected to arrive imminently in the Ibaraki and Fukushima prefectures.
The Bureau of Meteorology says there is no tsunami threat to Australia.
On Friday another powerful aftershock rocked an area of the country still reeling from March's earthquake and tsunami disaster, killing four people.
The 7.1 quake, which hit Miyagi prefecture, prompted Japanese authorities to warn that waves of up to two metres could hit the shoreline but the tsunami warning was later cancelled.
Workers battling to contain a crisis at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant were ordered to evacuate after the latest aftershock, operator TEPCO said.
Monday's quake came only hours after Japan expanded the evacuation zone around the Fukushima plant because of high levels of accumulated radiation in the area.
A 20-kilometre exclusion zone has been in place around the plant since last month, sparking the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl.
But chief cabinet secretary Yukio Edano said villages and towns outside the 20-kilometre evacuation zone that have had more accumulated radiation would be evacuated.
Children, pregnant women and hospitalised patients should stay out of some areas 20- to 30km from the Fukushima complex, he added.
"We have made a new decision about evacuations based on data analysis of accumulated radiation exposure information," Mr Edano told a news conference.
"There is no need to evacuate immediately," he added, but said it would be desirable to proceed with the new evacuation over a one-month period.
On Monday Japan remembered the dead and missing from the March 11 disaster, with the country falling silent at precisely 2:46pm (local time).
In ruined villages along the north-east coast, survivors put their hands together in prayer and bowed their heads as once again an emergency siren sounded.
Japan's prime minister used the occasion to thank the world for offering help during the past month.
- ABC/Reuters
Another strong aftershock hits Japan - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Updated 8 minutes ago
The 7.1-magnitude aftershock comes one month after the devastating magnitude 9.0 earthquake.
A large earthquake has shaken buildings in Japan's capital Tokyo and a tsunami warning has been issued for the coastal Ibaraki prefecture.
The 7.1-magnitude quake at 5:16pm (local time) comes one month to the day after the devastating magnitude 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami left 28,000 people dead or missing.
The Japan Meteorological Agency measured the quake at a depth of about 10 kilometres and has issued tsunami advisories for the Miyagi, Fukushima, and Chiba prefectures as well as the Kujukuri and Sotobo areas.
It is advising people in Ibaraki prefecture to evacuate immediately to a safe place away from the shore.
The agency says tsunamis are expected to arrive imminently in the Ibaraki and Fukushima prefectures.
The Bureau of Meteorology says there is no tsunami threat to Australia.
On Friday another powerful aftershock rocked an area of the country still reeling from March's earthquake and tsunami disaster, killing four people.
The 7.1 quake, which hit Miyagi prefecture, prompted Japanese authorities to warn that waves of up to two metres could hit the shoreline but the tsunami warning was later cancelled.
Workers battling to contain a crisis at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant were ordered to evacuate after the latest aftershock, operator TEPCO said.
Monday's quake came only hours after Japan expanded the evacuation zone around the Fukushima plant because of high levels of accumulated radiation in the area.
A 20-kilometre exclusion zone has been in place around the plant since last month, sparking the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl.
But chief cabinet secretary Yukio Edano said villages and towns outside the 20-kilometre evacuation zone that have had more accumulated radiation would be evacuated.
Children, pregnant women and hospitalised patients should stay out of some areas 20- to 30km from the Fukushima complex, he added.
"We have made a new decision about evacuations based on data analysis of accumulated radiation exposure information," Mr Edano told a news conference.
"There is no need to evacuate immediately," he added, but said it would be desirable to proceed with the new evacuation over a one-month period.
On Monday Japan remembered the dead and missing from the March 11 disaster, with the country falling silent at precisely 2:46pm (local time).
In ruined villages along the north-east coast, survivors put their hands together in prayer and bowed their heads as once again an emergency siren sounded.
Japan's prime minister used the occasion to thank the world for offering help during the past month.
- ABC/Reuters
Another strong aftershock hits Japan - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
