Large quake hits northern Japan

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http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/as...5/japan.quake/

TOKYO, Japan -- A magnitude 6.8 earthquake has hit northern Japan, triggering a tsunami alert in its aftermath, the Japanese Meteorological Agency reports. The Japanese Meteorological Agency reported the quake produced an ocean wave of about 50 cm (20 inches), but a tsunami watch was posted in the immediate aftermath of the tremor. The U.S. Geological Survey gauged the preliminary magnitude of the quake at 7.0, making it a major earthquake. The quake was located off the northeast coast of the Japanese island of Honshu, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) east-northeast of the city of Sendai, the USGS reported. The shaking could be felt as far away as Tokyo, about 350 kilometers (220 miles) southwest of the epicenter. The Associated Press reports about 80 people were injured when the roof on an indoor pool collapsed in Sendai. Japan's Kyodo news service reports transport systems have been shutdown, including Sendai's subway system, and bullet train services on the Joetsu and Nagano lines have been suspended. Kyodo also says a sports facility in Sendai has been damaged.

Disasters - never rains but it pours.

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