CRISISBOOM

wsj.com

A hefty earthquake jolted northeastern Japan shortly before noon on Wednesday, providing an unwelcome reminder of just how prone to seismic activity the country is 2 weeks after the Christchurch disaster.

While the 7.2 magnitude quake was centered 160 kilometers off the coast and was about 14 kilometers underwater, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, it was felt all the way down to central Tokyo’s Otemachi business district – 416 kilometers to the south.

Though there weren’t immediate reports of damage, the Japan Meteorological Agency immediately issued a tsunami alert for parts of the northeastern coast of Japan, predicting modest waves of up to 50 centimeters.