Japan earthquake hits 7.1 on the Richter scale

A 7.1 earthquake on the Richter Open Scale rocked the coast of Fukushima in eastern Japan on Saturday and was felt strongly in Tokyo, without the Japanese authorities activating the tsunami warning for the moment.

The earthquake took place at 23.08 local time on Saturday (14.08 GMT) with epicenter about 60 kilometers deep off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture, as reported by the Japan Meteorological Agency.

In Fukushima and Miyagi, on the northeast coast of Japan, the earthquake reached the level of six on the Japanese scale, with a maximum of seven and more focused on the affected areas than on the intensity of the earthquake.

Other prefectures on the east coast and central Japan were also hit hard by the earthquake, including the capital, where Japanese scale level 4 has been reached.

The Japan Meteorological Agency noted that the earthquake could cause a slight rise in sea level, although the tsunami warning was not activated.

The government of Japan has formed “An emergency team” to collect information and coordinate with local authorities “with the priority of saving possible victimsThe spokesperson for the executive said at a media conference, Katsunobu Kato.

“We are reviewing the situation to see if there has been any personal or property damage,” Kato added.

The energy company Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) noted that no “significant anomalies” in radiation levels were observed at the Fukushima Daiichi and Daini factories, which are inactive and being dismantled following the earthquake and tsunami of March 2011.

No damage was also detected in other nuclear power plants located in other affected areas, according to the state channel. NHK.

Around 950,000 homes were deprived of electricity following the earthquake in various parts of the country, according to data provided by the operating companies.

In addition, several high-speed train lines (shinkansen) operating in northeastern Japan have suspended operations due to power outages.

In Fukushima and Miyagi, there have been several fires so far, one of them in a factory, as well as an avalanche of earth on a highway that could have trapped cars, according to the Japanese media, which also collects a temporary toll of a dozen injured in incidents related to the earthquake.

The area was the scene of 2011 of the biggest natural disaster in recent Japanese history, when a magnitude 9 earthquake and the giant wave that followed left more than 15,000 dead and caused unprecedented radioactive crisis at Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the most seismically active regions in the world. The country accounts for about 20% of global earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.

(With information from EFE)