Fukushima residents feared the worst after a 6.9-magnitude earthquake that struck off Japan's Honshu Island on Tuesday triggered a tsunami warning, but it was lifted several hours later after only small waves appeared.
The tremor brought back bad memories of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that killed more than 20,000 people, reported CNN.
The epicenter of Tuesday's earthquake, 23 miles east-southeast of Namie at a depth of seven miles, was near the site of the 2011 earthquake, said CNN. The 9.0-magnitude earthquake five years ago created a 40-foot tsunami that swamped the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, causing a nuclear meltdown along with the devastating earthquake.
The Guardian said Japanese officials lifted the tsunami warning several hours after the earthquake struck at 6 a.m. local time. Residents were told to leave low-lying areas in Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures, but the earthquake only produced tsunami waves of 4.6 feet shortly after 8 a.m..
The Tokyo Electric Power Company told Japanese broadcaster NHK that a cooling system at the Fukushima Daini nuclear power plant had been restored after briefly stopping after the earthquake, said The Guardian.
"I have been informed that it will not immediately lead to a radiation leak or an increase in the temperature of the fuel," Japanese government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told reporters in a Tokyo news conference, according to Kyodo News.
Nissan halted work at its Fukushima plant, in the city of Iwaki, and evacuated the facility after the earthquake, reported The Guardian. That factory was heavily damaged in the 2011 earthquake, wrote the newspaper.
The Japan Meteorological Agency told Kyodo News the earthquake was believed to be an aftershock from the 2011 earthquake.
The JMA initially said the earthquake registered a magnitude 7.4, according to Kyodo News, but the U.S. Geological Survey measured it at 6.9-magnitude.
The JMA warned that that there may be more earthquakes of similar magnitude over the next week, reported Kyodo News. The agency said the underwater quake resulted from a vertical fault movement, a phenomenon likely to trigger tidal waves.
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