Powerful quake rattles north Japan, generates small tsunami region (Roundup)

Sep 11, 2008, 9:46 GMT

Tokyo - An earthquake registering 7 on the Richter scale struck Thursday in northern Japan, generating a small tsunami.

Police said there were no reports of injuries or damage from the affected island of Hokkaido, but about 10,000 residents in Hokkaido and Iwate prefectures were temporarily advised to evacuate when a tsunami warning was issued.

The Japan Meteorological Agency lifted the warning shortly after waves measuring 10 to 20 centimetres that were triggered by the quake reached the eastern coast of Hokkaido around 10 am (0100 GMT).

The quake, which struck at 9:21 am, was centred at a depth of 20 kilometres off Hokkaido's Pacific coast in the Tokachi area.

The agency warned residents that they could expect a series of aftershocks in the next few days.

Airports in Hokkaido and a freeway reopened after temporary shutdowns.

The Tomari nuclear power plant in south-eastern Hokkaido was not affected, the Hokkaido Electric Power Co said.

The Pacific coast of Hokkaido was also hit by a magnitude-8 quake in September 2003. It created a 2.55-metre tsunami that hit the east coast of Hokkaido and the northern part of Japan's main island of Honshu. Two people went missing.

Japan is one of the most seismically active parts of the world.