2016.11.2200:07:00UTC+00Japan’s Tsunami Warnings Downgraded After Magnitude 7.4 Earthquake

Japan downgraded the highest tsunami warnings issued by the country in five years as the threat of a tsunami eased after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake off the northeastern coast near the Fukushima prefecture.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the quake hit on Tuesday morning at around 06:00 local time, with an estimated depth of around 10 km. The tremors temporarily triggered a cooling system for spent nuclear fuel at a Fukushima power plant to automatically shut down, but was restarted two days later.

Tsunami warnings were issued widely following the earthquake. A one 1m wave struck the coastline close to the Fukushima power plant. A tsunami warning was also issued for the Miyagi prefecture, where a 1.4m tsunami wave was observed.

The weather agency cautioned that aftershocks of same magnitude could occur in the following week, triggering more tsunamis, NHK reported. This was observed when a similar-sized tremor hit the region two days ahead of the March 2011 disaster that left 18,000 people dead.