Fukushima earthquake: Two dead and millions without power in 7.3 magnitude quake off Japan coast

A 7.3 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Japan left millions without power, thousands evacuated from coastal towns and at least two people dead.

The earthquake epicentre was under 62 miles (100kms_ from the 9.1 magnitude earthquake that led to the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, which killed an estimated 22,000.

Just days after the 11th anniversary of the tragedy, a 7.3 earthquake struck about 11.30 am local time on Wednesday night, followed by a 5.6 magnitude aftershock about an hour later shortly before 1am on Thursday.

Two people were confirmed dead, and almost 100 injured in the city of Soma, Fukushima, according to city officials reported by Japanese news outlet NHK World.

Dramatic images and videos showed the city skyline shaking, power going out and explosions or flashes in the distance of the night sky.

Buildings in Tokyo shook violently, leaving more than 2.2 million homes without power in large parts of eastern Japan.

Almost 39,000 people were under tsunami warnings and hundreds along the coast in Fukushima and Miyagi were evacuated to shelters.

The tsunami warning of waves up to one metre was lifted for northeastern Japan after two small surges of between 20 to 30 centimetres were felt in Sendai and the Port of Ishinomaki.

The US tsunami warning centre, meanwhile, said was currently no danger for Alaska or its West Coast states of California, Washington or Oregon. Canada’s British Colombia was also said to be free of danger.

Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority reported the water pumps at two reactors in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant’s spent pool were halted.

There was also a fire alarm triggered at a turbine in the building of another reactor, but the nuclear regulator said there were no “abnormalities” with any of the facilities.

Three of the six reactors in the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Okuma melted down in 2011 after the tsunami flooded emergency power generators.

A bullet train carrying about 100 passengers and crew derailed between Fukushima and Miyagi, but no injuries were reported by East Japan Railway Co.

The company suspended most of its train services as damage assessments and safety checks continued.

Of the 2.2 million households that were left without power, about 700, were in Tokyo. Power was restored to most of them within hours, according to the TEPCO Power Grid and Tohoku Electric Power Network Co.

While deaths and damage were nowhere near the scale of the 2011 earthquake, Japan’s prime minister Fumio Kishida said the extent of damage was still being assessed.

"Please first take action to save your life," Kishida tweeted.

His office added on Twitter that the government was making “every effort to respond” to the earthquake and subsequent tsunami danger.

Japan’s Air Self-Defence Force said it dispatched fighter jets from the Hyakuri base in Ibaraki prefecture, just south of Fukushima, for information gathering and damage assessment

Japan warned that another earthquake of “similar intensity” could hit the country within the next week.