Update from Reuters indicates the earthquake was 5.8: http://www.reuters.com/...
(Reuters) - An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.8 struck Fukushima Prefecture in Japan early Friday morning, Kyodo reported, quoting the Japan Meteorological Agency.
original:
DENVER (AP) — A 5.3-magnitude earthquake has hit the Japanese prefecture that is home to the nuclear power plant crippled in the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake struck early Friday at a depth of about 13 miles under Fukushima Prefecture and about 110 miles northeast of Tokyo.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did not issue an alert.
http://www.usatoday.com/...
developing, will add more as it's learned. The plant was toured by the Japanese PM yesterday, he demanded that the entire facility be scrapped in light of hopes by some at TEPCO to restart two of the undamaged reactors.
11:44 AM PT: From Twitter:
Looks like M5.8 quake struck approx 25 miles from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. A=epicenter, B=plant pic.twitter.com/eIqlzIPbJ3
11:49 AM PT: Media reports are focusing on the lack of a Tsunami warning being issued, unlike the 2011 quakes, today's was on land so no Tsunami would be indicated.
12:13 PM PT: some media reports indicate a much stronger 5.8 now: http://fukushima-diary.com/...
12:19 PM PT: Reuters confirming earthquake magnitude at 5.8 http://www.reuters.com/...
12:28 PM PT: What's the difference between a 5.3 and a 5.8: On the Richter Scale, magnitude is expressed in whole numbers and decimal fractions. For example, a magnitude 5.3 might be computed for a moderate earthquake, and a strong earthquake might be rated as magnitude 6.3. Because of the logarithmic basis of the scale, each whole number increase in magnitude represents a tenfold increase in measured amplitude; as an estimate of energy, each whole number step in the magnitude scale corresponds to the release of about 31 times more energy than the amount associated with the preceding whole number value. http://earthquake.usgs.gov/...
12:46 PM PT: recent CNN piece highlighting the fact that thousands of local residents in the area are still living in temporary housing erected following the tsunami. Have to wonder how they have been affected by today's earthquake....
http://www.cnn.com/...