Apr 07, 2011

Northeast coast warned of 6-foot waves from new Japan quake

10:52 AMYahoo! BuzzShare
Douglas Stanglin, USA TODAY

Update at 11:34 a.m. ET: The Japan meteorological agency has issued a tsunami warning for a wave of up to 6 feet. Japan's public broadcaster NHK warns coastal residents to run to higher ground and away from the shore. The warning covers a coastal area already torn apart by last month's tsunami, which is believed to have killed some 25,000 people and has sparked an ongoing crisis at a nuclear power plant.

Paul Caruso, a geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey in Golden, Colo., says the latest quake hit at about the same location and depth as the March 11 quake.

Update at 11:22 a.m. ET: Tokyo Electric Power Company says workers have evacuated the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, CNN reports. The AP, however, is reporting that officials at the nuclear plant say there is no sign of new problems after strong aftershock, the AP reports.

Update at 11 a.m. ET: A magnitude-7.4 earthquake off Japan triggered a tsunami alert for the country's ravaged northeastern coast, the Associated Press reports.

Officials say the quake hit 25 miles under the water and off the coast of Miyagi prefecture. Buildings as far away as Tokyo shook for about a minute, the AP says.

Last month's devastating quake that triggered a major tsunami was a magnitude-9.0.

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