The Japanese meteorological agency withdrew the tsunami warning issued a few hours ago following a quake of magnitude 6.9 (initially estimated at 7.2) off the coast of the Miyagi region, in the north east of the country. No damage to property or people was reported and the inspection carried out on the nuclear power plants in the area revealed no anomalies. Rail traffic has been temporarily suspended for precautionary reasons.
There have been no immediate reports of damage or injuries and the region’s authorities are investigating whether there has been an impact on the area’s nuclear power plants, local media report. US monitoring agencies have set the magnitude of the quake at 7.0. The North East of Japan, which ten years ago was the scene of the devastating earthquake that caused the disaster of the Fukushima nuclear power plant, was hit last month by another strong earthquake that caused dozens of injuries. Japan is located in the so-called “ring of fire” of the Pacific, an area of intense seismic activity that extends as far as South East Asia.