14 DAY TRIAL // Reports are beginning to surface of a new, large earthquake in Japan. According to the automated seismic monitoring network maintained by the United States Geological Survey, the new event had a magnitude of 7.4, and it occurred at 11:32:41 UTC today, April 7, 2011.
The epicenter of the new tremor was located at a depth of 25.6 kilometers (15.9 miles), and its coordinates are 38.253 degrees latitude N by 141.640 degrees longitude E.
According to the earliest reports, the epicenter was located about 73 miles (118 kilometers) away from Fukushima, on the Honshu Island of Japan. However, its effects most likely will not affect the Japanese capital Tokyo, which is located some 207 miles (333 kilomteres) away to southwest.
Officials with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) have issued an evaluation bulletin about the tremor, which analyzes its potential for producing large tsunamis off the eastern coast of Honshu.
“No destructive widespread tsunami threat exists based on historical earthquake and tsunami data. However, earthquakes of this size sometimes generate local tsunamis that can be destructive along coasts located within a hundred kilometers of the earthquake epicenter,” the document states.
“Authorities in the region of the epicenter should be aware of this possibility and take appropriate action,” the experts add. The PTWC is managed by the National Weather Service (NWS) with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
What this announcement means is that the new event will most likely not cause the type of tsunami that devastated the Asian nation on March 11. If a tsunami is produced, it will have only minimal, local effects, and will not spread across the Pacific, towards North and South America.
The new seismic event comes on the heels of a slew of other earthquakes, that struck the Asian nation over the past three weeks. Dozens of them were above magnitude 6, while hundreds had a magnitude a bit lower, but still mostly larger than 4.0.
Early reports are also saying that the workers struggling to get the situation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant under control have been evacuated from the area. The epicenter of the tremor was located a little over 100 kilometers away, according to CNN.
It is currently unknown what measures authorities will take with regards to the power plant. Keep an eye on this space for more news as they become available.