New earthquake shakes Japan, tsunami alert issued
An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.5 on the Richter scale jolted Japan's eastern coast Monday morning local time, which led the authorities to issue a tsunami alert.
According to the US Geological Survey, the new strong earthquake hit Japan at 7.23 am. Its epicenter was off the east coast of the Honshu Island, at a depth of 5.9 km.
The tsunami alert issued by the Japan Meteorological Agency warned that a tsunami of up to half a meter could reach the coast of the Miyagi Prefecture.
On March 11, the Miyagi Prefecture and other neighbouring regions in northeastern Japan were struck by a magnitude-9.0 earthquake off the coast and ensuing tsunami, which killed over 10,000 people and caused a nuclear crisis in the Fukushima NPP.
About 16,621 people were listed as missing.
