7.3 earthquake strikes off Japan; no tsunami expected in Santa Cruz
Quick Take
A local tsunami warning was issued after magnitude 7.3 earthquake was reported 41 miles from Namie, Japan, on Wednesday. According to the National Weather Service, no tsunami was expected for the U.S. West Coast.
A powerful magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck off the coast of Fukushima in northern Japan on Wednesday evening, triggering a local tsunami advisory and plunging more than 2 million homes in the Tokyo area into darkness.
A tsunami warning was issued for nearby areas of the Japanese coast, but per the National Weather Service, no tsunami was expected for the West Coast of the United States, including in Santa Cruz.
Wednesday’s quake struck off Fukushima prefecture, the same area where a 9.0 temblor in 2011 caused a meltdown at a nuclear power plant and spawned a tsunami that swept into the Santa Cruz Harbor and caused an estimated $26 million in damage.
Earlier this year, the eruption of a volcano in the South Pacific Ocean on Jan. 15 resulted in a tsunami that brought flooding and more damage to the harbor, though Santa Cruz officials told Lookout that the harbor fared much better in 2022 than in 2011.
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The Japan Meteorological Agency said Wednesday’s quake struck 36 miles below the sea, the Associated Press reported. More than 2 million homes were without electricity around Tokyo, the TEPCO utility said on its website. The quake shook large parts of eastern Japan, including Tokyo, where buildings swayed violently.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.