6.3 quake has hit near Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant

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http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/Content.aspx?id=139987

Powerful quake strikes Northeast Japan

A magnitude 6.3 quake has hit near Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant on

Tuesday, shaking buildings in Tokyo.

SAPA-AFP

Published: 2011/04/12 08:51:04 AM

A powerful earthquake struck near Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant on

Tuesday, shaking buildings in Tokyo. No tsunami warning was issued and no damage

immediately reported.

The US Geological Survey said the quake had a magnitude of 6.0 and hit less than

11 kilometres (7 miles) below ground, 70 kilometres south of Fukushima city in

the prefecture of the same name.

Japanese officials had put the magnitude at 6.3.

Emergency workers grappling to bring stricken reactors under control at the

Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant were ordered to evacuate, an official from

operator Tokyo Electric Power said.

" We have no report of any abnormality in the external power to the Fukushima

Daiichi plant. But we are inspecting the status of the water hosing and

parameters in the area, " he said.

A loss of power to the cooling systems at the plant following the massive

tsunami caused by a huge undersea quake on March 11 left reactors heating up

dangerously, sparking the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years.