Magnitude-6.1 quake strikes off northern Japan, no damage

USPA News - A strong earthquake measuring 6.1 struck off the coast of northern Japan on Sunday afternoon, briefly disrupting transportation in the region but causing no major damage or casualties, seismologists and Japanese officials said. No tsunami alerts were issued.

The 6.1-magnitude earthquake at 12:43 p.m. local time (0343 GMT) on Sunday was centered about 81 kilometers (50 miles) east of Mutsu, a city located on the Shimokita Peninsula in the northeastern region of T"hoku. It struck about 50 kilometers (31 miles) deep, making it a shallow earthquake, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). The agency said strong shaking was felt in areas on land close to the epicenter, while areas further away experienced lighter shaking. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) put the magnitude of Sunday`s tremor at a slightly lower 6.0, but estimated the earthquake to be more shallow at a depth of just 41 kilometers (25.5 miles). It estimated some 8.1 million people in the region may have felt the earthquake. The Jiji Press news agency said no major damage had been reported and there were no injuries, but bullet train services between Ninohe Station and Shin-Aomori Station on the Tohoku Shinkansen Line were briefly disrupted. The Tohoku Electric Power Co. said there were no reports of irregularities at the Higashidori nuclear power plant. Japan is still recovering from an enormous 9.0-magnitude earthquake that struck off the coast of northeastern Japan in March 2011, generating a devastating tsunami that wiped out entire communities and killed at least 15,887 people. A building housing the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant exploded and three of its nuclear reactors suffered a meltdown, triggering the world`s worst nuclear accident since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.