Japan lifts tsunami alert

Japan’s NHK World TV reported that all tsunami alerts in the country have been lifted, following a 7.4-magnitude earthquake that struck off the ruined northeastern coast.

Earlier, Japanese meteorological officials warned of waves of up to 6 feet and suggested people in coastal areas evacuate to higher ground.

However, NHK said that the external electrical power supply has been cut in two of three lines which service the Ongawa nuclear power plant in the Miyagi prefecture due to the quake. NKH reported that the power lines became unavailable. One only line remains operative and it is being used to cool down the nuclear fuel, according to Japan’s National Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.

CNN reported earlier that workers at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant had been evacuated, although there was apparently no additional damage there due to the new quake.

The latest quake struck at roughly the same location and depth as the devastating March 11 quake, which has killed more than 20,000 people, according to Paul Caruso, a geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey in Golden, Colo.