A strong earthquake struck Friday off the coast of northeastern Japan,  triggering small tsunami waves in the same region hit by a massive earthquake  and tsunami last year.

The Japan Meteorological Agency says the earthquake had a preliminary  magnitude of 7.3 and struck in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Miyagi  prefecture. The epicenter was 6.2 miles beneath the seabed.

There were no immediate reports of major damage but two people were  reportedly injured.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported two aftershocks of of 5.5 and 4.7  magnitudes east of Ishinomaki, a city in Miyagi, where a tsunami of 1 meter (1  yard) hit about 40 minutes after the quake struck.

Dec. 7, 2012: People crowd at Sendai railway station in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, after trains were halted following a strong earthquake struck off the coast of northeastern Japan

Small tsunami waves were also recorded at the Port of Ofunato in Iwate  Prefecture and Kesennuma City in Miyagi, according to Japan’s NHK TV.

After the quake, which caused buildings in Tokyo to sway for at least several  minutes, authorities issued a warning that a tsunami potentially as high as 2  meters (2.19 yards) could hit.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no risk of a widespread  tsunami. About two hours after the quake struck, the tsunami warning was  cancelled.

Shortly before the earthquake struck, NHK television broke off regular  programming to warn that a strong quake was due to hit. Afterward, the announcer  repeatedly urged all near the coast to flee to higher ground.

The magnitude-9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami that slammed into  northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, killed or left missing some 19,000 people,  devastating much of the coast. All but two of Japan’s nuclear plants were shut  down for checks after the earthquake and tsunami caused meltdowns at the  Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant in the worst nuclear disaster since the 1986  Chernobyl disaster.

Immediately following Friday’s quake, there were no problems at any of the  nuclear plants operated by Fukushima Dai-Ichi operator Tokyo Electric Power Co.,  said a TEPCO spokesman, Takeo Iwamoto.

Sirens whooped along the coast as people ran for higher ground, but the  Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no risk of a widespread  tsunami.

A 75-year-old woman fell and was injured while evacuating to flee from the  tsunami, public television broadcaster NHK reported. It said a child was  reportedly injured in the Miyagi city of Sendai. Miyagi police said they could  not confirm those reports.

More than an hour after the quake struck, an unnamed official from the  Meteorological Agency, speaking on national television, continued to warn people  to stay away from the coast.

“Please take all precautions. Please stay on higher ground,” he said.

The tsunami alert extended from the tip of the main island of Honshu nearly  down to Tokyo, though the warning for the area most likely to be hit was only  for the Miyagi coast.

All Nippon Airways spokesman Takuya Taniguchi said government officials were  checking on the runways at Sendai airport. The two jets that were in the air  went to other airports and all seven flights scheduled to go to Sendai for the  day were cancelled, he said.

Source: Fox News

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