Early Tuesday morning an earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale was recorded in Japan. The epicenter was in the sea off Fukushima prefecture, and a number of areas recorded intense shaking of the ground measuring “5-lower” shindo units on the Japan Meteorological Agency seismic intensity scale. The quake also triggered a tsunami just off the coast, not far from the Fukushima nuclear power plant damaged by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The authorities are urging Fukushima prefecture residents to leave coastal areas immediately.
That same day tsunamis were recorded off the Pacific coast from the Tohoku region to the Kanto region. A tsunami 1.4 meters high was observed at Miyagi prefecture’s Sendai Port, the highest recorded of the tsunamis caused by Tuesday’s earthquake, and the largest since the tsunami created by the Great Tohoku Earthquake of Mar 11, 2011. The 2011 tsunami was 40 meters high, and left almost 16,000 dead and 2,500 missing and unaccounted for.
Officials at the Japan Meteorological Agency said that people could expect earthquakes of the same magnitude as Tuesday’s for around a week, and called on the public to remain vigilant. New Zealand officials said Tuesday that the government would be on the lookout for tsunamis in that location.
Photo: Reuters
照片：路透社
(Translated by Paul Cooper)
日本週二清晨觀測到芮氏規模七點四強震，震央位在福島縣外海，部分地區觀測到震度「五弱」級的強烈搖晃。近海也觸發一場海嘯，位置就在二○一一年被地震和海嘯破壞的福島核電站附近。當局敦促福島縣居民立即離開沿海地區。
週二由東北到關東一帶的太平洋沿岸等地，觀測到海嘯，宮城縣的仙台港觀測到一點四公尺高的海嘯， 是週二強震後來襲的海嘯高度當中最高的紀錄，也是二○一一年三月十一日東日本大震災以來首見的海嘯高度。二○一一年發生的海浪高達四十公尺，導致近一萬六千人遇難、兩千五百人失蹤。
日本氣象廳官員表示，今後大約一週之內，可能發生與週二同樣規模的地震，呼籲民眾要持續提高警覺。紐西蘭官員週二表示，政府正在留意當地可能發生的海嘯。
(中央社）
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