A 5.6 -magnitude earthquake hit northeast Japan on early Thursday, 24 November, just two days after a powerful earthquake triggered tsunami waves and prompted shutting down of the cooling systems at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
However, no Tsunami warning was issued and the tremors did not do any additional damage to the Fukushima nuclear power plant of Tokyo Electric Power Company, according to Japan's public broadcaster NHK. Officials also confirmed that there were no immediate report of injury or death.
However, Japanese people are on high alert since the 7.4 magnitude earthquake on 22 November. The powerful earthquake in the Fukushima prefecture immediately gave rise to fears of a possible meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, which was the scene of devastation after the quake and tsunami in 2011.
Surging waves were recorded lashing the north-east coast. A 140cm wave struck Sendai at 8am local time, following which a 90cm wave, an 80 cm wave and a 70cm wave have hit Soma, Ishinomaki and Onahama port respectively. The jolts from the earthquake were felt as far as Tokyo where the building shook for at least half a minute.
Japan is located at the junction of four tectonic plates and it experiences relatively violent quakes every year. Reports show that Japan accounts for about 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.
