Powerful Earthquake Off North Japan Kills 4, More Than 90 Injured

Thousands of homes in Japan have been left without power on Thursday after a powerful magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck shortly before midnight, throwing a swathe of northeastern Japan into darkness, severing key transportation links, and killing at least four people.

The temblor revived memories of Japan’s biggest quake, of magnitude 9.1, which struck on March 11, 2011, in the same area and which includes Fukushima prefecture and a nuclear power plant crippled by a tsunami and meltdown. It left a Shinkansen bullet train service indefinitely suspended, and at least one major highway to the region closed for safety checks.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told a parliamentary session on Thursday morning that four people died during the quake and the cause of their deaths is being investigated, while 97 others were injured. A man in his 60s in Soma city died after falling from the second floor of his house while trying to evacuate, and a man in his 70s panicked and suffered a heart attack, Kyodo News reported earlier.

The Japan Meteorological Agency early Thursday lifted its low-risk advisory for a tsunami along the coasts of Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures. Tsunami waves of 30 centimeters (11 inches) reached shore in Ishinomaki, about 390 kilometers (242 miles) northeast of Tokyo.

The agency upgraded the magnitude of the quake to 7.4 from the initial 7.3, and the depth from 60 kilometers (36 miles) below the sea to 56 kilometers (35 miles).

“This one felt different (to the 2011 quake), it was huge. I had to hang on to something to stay upright,” said Aoi Hoshino, who owns a bar in Fukushima and had customers when the quake struck.

One of her customers shrugged off the initial tremors, but when the biggest one-hit he stood up and shouted, “This is a big one!” she recalled.

Parts of building facades tumbled into streets in some areas. Television footage showed a steep tiled roof crumpled over a parked, crushed car and workers examining cracked highways.

A tsunami warning was issued early on Thursday morning but was later canceled. Some areas reported a rise in the sea level but no serious damage was immediately reported.

The government said they will be on high alert for the possibility of further strong tremors over the next two to three days.