TOKYO — A 7.1 magnitude earthquake was reported by the Japan Meteorological Agency at 23:08 JST with an epicenter on the coast of Fukushima Prefecture.
The agency said there is no risk of a tsunami, but there could be fluctuations in sea levels. The area in northeastern Japan suffered a devastating Tohoku quake in 2011 that severely damaged the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
The epicenter had a depth of about 60 km. Among the hardest hit areas is the city of Soma in Fukushima, roughly 40 km north of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, and the Zao ski resort in Miyagi Prefecture.
According to Japan Atomic Power Company, no abnormalities have been observed at the Tokai No. 2 Nuclear Power Plant in Ibaraki Prefecture. Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, said that it is currently assessing the impact on its facilities.
Tepco reported power outages at 830,000 homes in its service area, Tohoku Electric Power said there were outages at 90,000 homes.
