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Strong earthquake shakes northern Japan
(AP)
Updated: 2005-11-15 08:37
A strong earthquake shook northern Japan early Tuesday, triggering a small
tsunami that struck coastal towns about 200 miles from the epicenter. There were
no immediate reports of damage.
The quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 6.9, hit at 6:39 a.m. (4:39 p.m.
EST Monday) and was centered off the east coast of Japan's main island of
Honshu, according to the U.S. Geological Survey and Japan's Meteorological
Agency.
Tsunami waves of 12 and 19 inches hit the city of Ofunato, and 4- to 12-inch
waves generated by the quake struck at least four other towns in the area, the
agency said. Tsunami waves are often barely noticeable in the ocean but can rise
to greater heights once they reach shore.
NASA Aqua satellite image shows snow on the
mountains of central Japan's Honshu Island in
2004.[AFP/file] | Ross Stein, a geophysicist with
the USGS in Menlo Park, Calif., said the swell amounted to "a surfable tsunami."
The quake hit at a depth of about 15 miles and was centered off the coast of
Sanriku in northern Japan, 330 miles east of Tokyo, the USGS said.
Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries because it sits
atop four tectonic plates. A powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake shook
northeastern Japan in August, injuring at least 59 people, triggering
landslides, damaging buildings and causing widespread power outages.
There was no destructive Pacific Ocean-wide tsunami threat following
Tuesday's quake, based on historical data, according to the Pacific Tsunami
Warning Center in Ewa Beach, Hawaii.
However, earthquakes as large as Tuesday's can general local tsunamis capable
of causing destruction along coastlines within 60 miles of the epicenter,
according to the center.
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