A major earthquake shook the north-east of Japan late Thursday and a tsunami warning was issued for the coast already devastated by last month’s massive quake and tsunami that crippled a nuclear power plant.
No damage from the quake, measured at magnitude 7,4 by the Japan Meteorological Agency, was detected at the Fukushima Daiichi plant and workers had been evacuated without reports of any injuries, operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said. TEPCO said it was continuing to inject nitrogen into reactor No 1 after no irregularities were reported.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage elsewhere but people in areas covered by the tsunami warning should evacuate to higher ground, Japan’s NHK public television said.
Japan is struggling to bring the Fukushima Daiichi plant under control after the March 11 magnitude 9,0 quake and tsunami that followed, which killed or left missing, about 28 000 people.