Quake Close to Japan's Damaged Nuclear Power Plant
An earthquake of 5.6 magnitude has hit the north-east region of Japan today (Friday early morning local time); the same region where the Fukushima nuclear power plant is located. A tsunami alert is not believed to have been made.
The earthquake hit Honshu, Japan early in the morning and fears were initially raised of any potential damage to the fragile nuclear power plant that Japan has struggled to control since the devastating tsunami on March 11.
At 3:34 am JST, the quake struck with its epicenter 51 miles from Fukushima and centered more than 28 miles deep, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
No deaths or serious damage has been reported yet, and a tsunami alert was not immediately reported.
The earthquake that struck March 11 was of 9.0 magnitude and resulted in 22,600 people dead or missing.