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Home >Expats Living in ShanghaiJapan hit by another powerful earthquake.
Update：2013-12-10 00:56 Views：
A major earthquake shook the northeast of Japan late last night, in the same area already devastated by last month's massive quake and tsunami, leading to the evacuation of workers attempting to stop radiation leaking from a crippled a nuclear power plant.However, officials at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant say there was no immediate sign the aftershock caused new problems.
Japan's meteorological agency has lifted a tsunami warning for the northeastern coast 90 minutes after the 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck offshore.
At least seven people were injured, two of them seriously, police said.
The quake hit about 11:30pm last night Japan time. It rattled nerves nearly a month after the devastating earthquake and tsunami that flattened the northeastern coast.
Announcers on Japan's public broadcaster NHK told residents in the northeast to move to higher ground away from the shore.
The warning was for the same area devastated by the March 11 magnitude 9.0 quake and tsunami, which is believed to have killed some 28,000 people.
No damage from the quake, measured at magnitude 7.4 by the Japan Meteorological Agency, was detected at the Fukushima Daiichi plant and workers had been evacuated without reports of any injuries, operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said. The company said it was continuing to inject nitrogen into reactor No.1 after no irregularities were reported.
Engineers, who sealed a leak this week that had allowed highly radioactive water into the sea, are pumping nitrogen into the reactor to prevent the risk of a hydrogen gas explosion, and want to start the process in another two reactors.
There were no abnormalities in radiation levels around Tohoku Electric's Onagawa nuclear power plant, where fuel rods are being cooled with just one outside power source, Japan's nuclear safety agency said.
People in areas covered by the tsunami warning should evacuate to higher ground, Japan's NHK public television said.
Large parts of northern Japan were without electricity according to local media early today.
Japan's neighbors have sounded increasingly alarmed over the risk of radiation from the Fukushima plant, while tourists are staying away in what should be the peak season, and the country seeks ways to cut power use.
TEPCO said late last night it did not expect it would have to dump any more contaminated water into the ocean after Saturday.
Earlier, TEPCO said the chance of a repeat of the gas explosions that damaged two reactors in the first days of the disaster was "extremely small."
But as engineers battle multiple crises, officials admit it could take months to bring the reactors under control and years to clear up the toxic mess left behind at the plant 240 kilometers north of Tokyo.
"Data shows the reactors are in a stable condition, but we are not out of the woods yet," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told reporters yesterday.
The government has already set up a 20 kilometers exclusion zone around the plant, banned fishing along much of the northeast coast and set up evacuation centres for the tens of thousands forced to leave their homes following the crisis.
In South Korea, some schools closed because parents were worried that rain could be toxic. "We've sent out an official communication today that schools should try to refrain from outdoor activities," an education official in South Korea said.
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