Skip navigation

6.8-magnitude quake hits northeast of Tokyo

The quake wakes up some residents of the capital; no injuries reported

Asia-Pacific video  
Kim Jong Il reportedly ill with pancreatic cancer
July 13: South Korean television reported on Monday that North Korea's leader Kim Jong Il is dying of pancreatic cancer and is not expected to live more than five years. NBC's Brian Williams reports.

Text alerts on msnbc.com

Breaking news alerts (about 1 per day)
Click here to sign up or text NEWS to MSNBC (67622).

Find more alerts at alerts.msnbc.com

updated 2:55 p.m. ET May 7, 2008

TOKYO - A magnitude 6.8 earthquake off the Japanese coast rattled Tokyo early Wednesday, seismologists and national television said.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage, though the quake woke up some residents of the capital, public broadcaster NHK said. No tsunami warning had been issued, it added.

The epicenter of the quake that struck at 01:45 (16:45 GMT) was offshore, 161 kilometers (100 miles) northeast of Tokyo and at a depth of 40 kilometers underwater, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Story continues below ↓
advertisement | your ad here

NHK reported that a second quake hit in the same area about half an hour later with a magnitude of 5.3 in the Richter scale.

However, the broadcaster reported that power lines and communications were running normally and no injuries or minor damage had been reported. An hour later, regularly scheduled programming had resumed.

Japan is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world, although Tokyo has not been hit with a major quake since the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake killed 140,000 people.

An earthquake of that size, about a magnitude 8, occurs once every 200 to 300 years.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Sponsored LinksGet listed here
Top Online Schools
Find the perfect online school and Boost your Career! Free Info Pack.
www.EarnMyDegree.com

Sponsored links

Resource guide