Japan earthquake: strong quake prompts tsunami warning for disaster zone

The earthquake, measuring 6.5 on the Richter Scale, was pinpointed to 50 miles east of Oshika peninsula in Miyagi prefecture, an area still recovering from the devastation of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Following the new earthquake, the Japanese authorities issued a 20 inch tsunami warning for the Pacific coastal region which was later lifted, with no reports of immediate casualties or further damage.

Japan's weather agency said that the strong tremor was believed to be the latest in a string of aftershocks to hit the region following the massive earthquake just over two weeks ago.

A large clean-up and restoration project remains in place across the northeast of Japan following widespread devastation and the loss of more than 27,000 lives.

Fears of radiation contamination are continuing to hamper procedures and are causing widespread unease following damage to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Teams of workers at the nuclear plant located 150 miles north of Tokyo are continuing a tense battle around the clock to stem radiation leaks and restore control inside four of its six reactors.

Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), the operators of the plant, caused confusion on Sunday when they erroneously reported that radiation levels in water within one of the reactors was 10 million times higher than normal.

After correcting this to 100,000 times higher the government strongly criticised TEPCO for the "absolutely unacceptable" mistake.

The highly contaminated water has now been attributed to the partial melting of the Number 2 reactor's fuel rods after it was hit by the March 11 earthquake and subsequent tsunami.

Yukio Edano, the chief cabinet secretary, said: "The radiation seems to have come from the fuel rods that were partially melted down and came into contact with the water used to cool the reactor.

"Steam may have condensed [ ] carrying water from within the containment vessel."

Rolling blackouts to cut back on electricity use in the Kanto region of Japan were resumed today to help counter the energy shortages caused by damage to the nuclear plant.


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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/8410322/Japan-earthquake-strong-quake-prompts-tsunami-warning-for-disaster-zone.html