Tsunami warnings were issued along the beaches of Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures at roughly 11:36 p.m. on the 16th after a magnitude (M) 7.4 earthquake with an epicentre off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture. By 5 a.m., all tsunami warnings had been lifted. In Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, more than 30,000 families were left without electricity, while more than 2 million households in the metropolitan region were left without power.
By 8:30 a.m. on the 17th, the National Police Agency had verified the deaths of four persons. According to reports, one person perished in each of the following places: Soma, Fukushima, Tome, Miyagi, Shichigahama, and Shiogama, Miyagi.
Japan Meteorological Agency said the epicentre is 57 kilometres deep. M6.1 earthquake with an epicentre at the same place occurred at 11:34 am only two minutes ago.
A 70-year-old man from Tome City in Miyagi Prefecture died immediately after the earthquake, according to several accounts. A guy in his 60s has been reported deceased in Soma City, Fukushima Prefecture, according to local media.
Even in the heart of the city, there were squeaks and other vibrations, making it impossible to stand.
The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami alert for the prefectures of Miyagi and Fukushima shortly after the earthquake. At 0:29 a.m. on the 17th, the Miyagi Prefecture port of Ishinomaki was hit by a 20-cm-high wave.
The TEPCO Power Grid estimates that 2.09 million homes in the Tokyo metropolitan region lost power as a direct result of the outage. A power outage affected almost 700,000 people in Tokyo, but it was fixed by the time the sun came up.
pumps in the spent nuclear fuel pools of Fukushima Dai-Ichi and Dai-Ichi nuclear power plants Unit 5 and Unit 1 and 3 have been discontinued, according to the National Nuclear-Regulatory Agency (NRA). Both have been repaired, and the cooling of nuclear fuel has not been affected. Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Unit 5 and Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Plant Unit 5 both triggered fire alarms, although there was no fire at either location. Tohoku Electric Power Co., Inc.'s Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant in Onagawa Town has temporarily halted the pumping of Unit 1's spent nuclear fuel pool, but it is expected to be restored shortly.
Meteorological data from the Japan Meteorological Agency shows that "In the past, 10 to 20 percent of earthquakes of the same size occurred as a result of a major earthquake. Keep an eye out for quakes!" It's common for large-scale earthquakes to strike in the following few days, he added.
2 kilometres before Shiroishi Zao Station, the Tohoku Shinkansen from Tokyo to Sendai derailed, says JR East (Shiroishi City, Miyagi Prefecture). However, no one on board was hurt in the crash. Derailed and leaning right in the direction of travel, reports the Asahi Shimbun. JR intends to rebuild derailed carriages and conduct equipment inspections between Nasushiobara and Morioka on the same line. It is likely that the operation will not be completely operational for some time.