7.3-magnitude Quake Strikes Northeastern Japan

Tokyo, March 16 : A 7.3-magnitude earthquake hit northeastern Japan on Wednesday, prompting the Japan Meteorological Agency to issue a tsunami warning. Strong shaking was felt in the country’s northeastern and eastern areas, especially in Miyagi and Fukushima Prefectures where the quake logged six upper on the Japanese seismic intensity scale which peaks at seven. The temblor occurred at around 11:36 pm local time (1436 GMT) with a north latitude of 37.7 and an east longitude of 141.7 and at depth of 60 km. The quake caused blackout in Fukushima’s Soma, according to the city office. The capital city of Tokyo also detected strong tremors and power outage has been reported in part of Tokyo after the quake. The Japanese prime minister’s office has set up an emergency center in response to the powerful quake.