Strong earthquake near Fukushima, Japan, kills 1, injures at least 88

A shake map of the 7.3 magnitude earthquake with an epicenter located 35.4 miles east of Namie, off the coast of Fukishima, Japan, late Wednesday is shown. Map: U.S. Geological Survey

March 16 (UPI) — A 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck Wednesday off the coast near Fukushima, Japan, the site of a 2011 nuclear disaster, killing one person and injured at least 88 people.

Soma city officials in Fukushima Prefecture confirmed that one person died and at least 88 people were injured and that there were other reports in the impacted area of structural damage, fires, blackouts and disrupted train services, NHK World reported.

The earthquake also cut power to more than 2 million households, Accuweather reported, and led to two small tsunamis.

The quake struck at 11:36 p.m. (local time) on Wednesday with shaking felt as far as Tokyo.

The epicenter of the quake was located 35.4 miles east of Namie, off the coast of Fukushima, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

By early Thursday (local time), small tsunami waves hit the Port of Ishinomaki in the Miyagi Prefecture and Sendai, also in Miyagi.

There have so far been no reports of casualties or injuries of the tsunami.

In 2011, an earthquake prompted tsunami waves that led to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster.

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