Honshu, July 10: A powerful earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale has struck the coast of Honshu in eastern Japan.
The quake struck at 9:57 a.m. local time (0057 GMT) on Sunday, according to the US Geological Survey. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
The epicenter was monitored at 38 degrees north latitude and 143.5 degrees east longitude, with a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles), the Xinhua news agency reported.
A tsunami advisory was issued for Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures following the strong quake.
On March 11, Japan was hit by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake, followed by a devastating tsunami that ravaged the country’s northeastern coast.
The tremor triggered a nuclear crisis by knocking out power to cooling systems at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on the northeast coast.
According to the National Police Agency, the number of the dead and missing from Japan’s March 11 quake and tsunami stands at over 28,000.
Meanwhile, the Tokyo metropolitan government said on Saturday that elevated levels of radioactive cesium were detected in a herd of cattle from Fukushima prefecture, marking the first time that radiation has been found in domestic livestock since the start of the nuclear crisis in March.
The level of radioactive cesium detected in the group of 11 cattle exceeded Japan’s safety standards by three to six times, a Ministry of Health spokesman said.
All cattle originated from the same farm in Minamisouma, which is in close proximity to the Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s stricken Daiichi nuclear plant, he said.
None of the cattle in question were made available to consumers, he emphasized.
——-Agencies