A 6.1-magnitude earthquake has struck Japan 175 miles from the Fukushima nuclear plant
(USGS)
Less than 24 hours after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake pummeled Mexico City, another tremor
has occurred off the east coast of Japan.
The
6.1-magnitude quake struck roughly 175 miles east of the shuttered Fukushima
nuclear plant at roughly 2:30 a.m. local time, according to the US Geological Survey. Its hypocenter — the
underwater locus of the quake — happened at a depth of about 6 miles.
(A map of the tectonic
plate forces that subject Japan to earthquakes.USGS)
Like Mexico, Japan is located in what is considered an active earthquake region.
The
country is influenced by the slipping and sliding of several of Earth's tectonic
plates, including the North America plate, Pacific plate, Philippine Sea plate,
and Eurasia plate. Whenever these pieces of crust grind or butt up against
one another, earthquakes happen.
Over
the past century, Japan has been struck by nine severe earthquakes, each
of which killed more than 1,000 people.
Part
of the problem is the country's high population density, which can make even shallow temblors a serious risk.
In
1995, an earthquake along the Japan Median Tectonic Line near Kobe lead to more
than 5,000 deaths.
More
recently, the magnitude 9 Tohoku earthquake in 2011 killed more than 20,000
people after it triggered a tsunami that generated powerful waves up to
133 feet tall. That earthquake occurred just 43 miles east of inhabited land
and its underwater hypocenter was close to three times as deep.
As
of 4:45 p.m. ET, there have been no reports of damage or tsunami warnings from
USGS or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
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