Japan, rocked by quake, warned of tsunami

[SVZ]

TOKYO - A strong quake shook northern Japan early Tuesday and Japan’s Meteorological Agency issued tsunami warnings.

The magnitude 6.9 quake struck at 6:39 a.m., the agency said. The U.S. Geological Survey put the magnitude at 7.2. There was no immediate explanation for the discrepancy. 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.

The quake, also felt in Tokyo, measured 3 on the Japanese intensity scale of 7, normally not enough to cause serious damage.

The agency said a tsunami could reach coastlines on Japan’s Pacific Coast between 7:10 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. in Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima and Hokkaido, the agency said.

The agency said the tsunami could be as high as 20 inches. Such waves are often barely noticeable in the ocean but can rise to greater heights once they arrive at shore.

Police in southeastern Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost main island, urged residents and fishermen not to get too close to coastal areas, TV news reports said.

There were no immediate reports of injuries, according to national broadcaster NHK.

Japan is one of the world’s most earthquake-prone countries, with a tremor occurring at least every five minutes.

© 2005 MSNBC Interactive

[moomies]

Wow, thank god my hometown isn't on the pacific coast but they did have a huge earth quake there in Niigata (North-east of Japan) about 2 years ago where some houses literally sank between a crack in the ground.

Scary!

[ourmaninBusan]

They had a quake in Japan this year that was so strong it shook
my apartment in Busan, SOUTH KOREA.

No kidding. There is a fault line in the ocean between Japan and
Korea (just off the port city of Fukuoka) and when the quake hit Japan, the tremors shook my
apartment and woke me up. My little TV was rocking back and forth
on top of my fridge and I had to get out of bed to keep it
from toppling to the floor (I live on the 5th floor).

And to make it worse-- that quake was stronger than the
previous winner that I felt while I lived in Japan...so you can
imagine how strong the Japanese felt it.

[olivia720]

wisconsin is not so bad!! we never have these problems!