The previously activated tsunami alert has now been cancelled. A false fire alarm and the interruption of a used fuel cooling system have been registered at the Fukushima plant, although they have been resolved.
Japan has reported at least four deaths and 194 injuries due to the earthquake registered yesterday in the northeast of the country. The Japan Meteorological Agency warned of a possible tsunami on that coast of up to a meter high. Five hours after the earthquake, the Japanese authorities announced that they were withdrawing the alarms, although a possible strong seismic activity is expected over the next few days.
The earthquake occurred at 23:36 local time (14:36 GMT) on Wednesday, off the coast of Fukushima and Miyagi and at a depth of 57 kilometers.
Blackouts and accidents
The earthquake caused widespread interruptions in power supply throughout the country. More than 2 million homes were left without power after the earthquake in and around Tokyo, where local and regional train services were also interrupted, while in the Tohoku region (where Fukushima is located) more than 156,000 also lost power electricity, according to the operating companies.
According to the Japanese railway company JR East, a train derailed between Fukushima and Shiroishizao stations. None of the 75 passengers or three crew members on board have been injured.
The earthquake reached level six (out of a maximum of seven) on the Japanese scale, focused on measuring the agitation on the surface and the affected areas rather than on the intensity of the tremor. It was also strongly felt in other areas of eastern and central Japan, including Tokyo, where it reached level four on the Japanese scale.
Fukushima nuclear power plant
The operator of the plant, TEPCO, detected a false fire alarm in an inactive reactor and the interruption of a used fuel cooling system, although these have been resolved. No increases in radioactivity have been detected at the plants or in their vicinity.
The tremor also caused the displacement of some of the tanks where tons of cubic meters of contaminated water are stored -and subsequently treated- used to cool the reactors damaged by the earthquake and tsunami of 2011, as well as damage to some beams and other structures of the central. The operator said that they had not detected changes in the pressure of the containment vessels of the reactors.
Source: Eitb
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