M6.9 Earthquake Strikes Northeastern Japan
Northeastern Japan was hit by a magnitude 6.9 earthquake at around 6 p.m. local time on Saturday. The Meteorological Agency first estimated the magnitude at 7.2, but later revised the figure.
A tsunami advisory was issued for Miyagi Prefecture, but it was lifted about an hour and a half later. Some local municipalities declared evacuation orders along coastal areas and opened evacuation centers, but all the orders have been lifted.
There were no reports of fatalities as of 7:30 p.m.
The focus of the quake was at a depth of 59 kilometers off the prefecture.
The tremor registered an intensity of 5-plus on the Japanese seismic scale of zero to 7 in Miyagi Prefecture.
No abnormalities have been reported at nuclear power plants in the Tohoku region, including the Fukushima Daiichi plant.