Asia-Pacific

Strong earthquake recorded off Japan

United States Geological Survey says 7.8 magnitude quake was 677km below surface

Tokyo Electric Power Co said there were no abnormalities at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant following the quake. Photograph: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images
Tokyo Electric Power Co said there were no abnormalities at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant following the quake. Photograph: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images
Sat May 30 2015 - 13:23

A strong earthquake with magnitude of 7.8 has been recorded off Japan.

The earthquake happened off the Bonin Islands, also known as the Ogasawara Islands, some 190 kilometres off Japan’s coast.

Buildings in Tokyo, located some 870km north of the epicentre, shook from the force of the quake.

The United States Geological Survey's (USGS) Earthquake Hazards Program recorded the earthquake at a depth of 677.6km kilometers below the ocean bed.

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The US National Tsunami Warning Center gave the all-clear a short while later saying "There is no tsunami danger for the US West Coast, British Columbia, or Alaska. Based on the depth of the earthquake, a tsunami is not expected."

Tokyo Electric Power Co said there were no abnormalities at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant following the quake. The runways at

Tokyo’s Narita airport were operating normally but the high-speed bullet train service between

Tokyo and Osaka was halted due to a power outage, NHK said.