A 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck near Miyagi at 11:32 p.m. Thursday. The quake was the strongest aftershock of the 9.0-magnitude quake that hit the same region Mar. 11. Two people have died and 132 were injured as a result of the quake. One 79-year-old man died of shock and a woman in her 60s died when her oxygen tank failed because of the subsequent power shortage. The quake left 3.64 million households without electricity in six prefectures, including those who were already without power due to the Mar. 11 quake.
No more nuclear abnormality have been reported so far as a result of the quake.
This powerful aftershock and the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant serve to remind us that Japan is not in the clear yet.
