ON EDGE

Tsunami Alert Issued for Japan After Earthquake Hits Fukushima Area

An earthquake in the same area 11 years ago led to a tsunami that caused the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Two million Tokyo households were left without power on Wednesday night when a 7.3 magnitude earthquake erupted off the coast of Fukushima in northern Japan, according to local officials. Just over a decade ago, an earthquake in the same region led to a devastating tsunami that caused a nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. On Wednesday, Japan’s nuclear authority said the stricken Fukushima plant did not appear to be affected. The earthquake hit close to midnight, local time, with an epicenter 20.5 miles below the sea, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. It caused one of the country’s famous Shinkansen bullet trains to derail although no injuries were reported among the train’s 100 passengers. Tsunami alerts were issued for the coast of Honshu, warning of possibly dangerous waves striking communities within 186 miles of the earthquake’s epicenter.