{O/C} {Good evening} 4 people have died and more than 100 were injured following a powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake that rocked Japan's northern Fukushima prefecture.
The region is also where the Fukushima nuclear disaster took place in 2011. Water pumps in spent fuel storage pools temporarily stopped working, but no change in radiation levels was recorded.
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Residents woke up to a sorry sight after a magnitude 7.4 quake jolted Fukushima in the dead of the night, sending buildings shaking relentlessly.
Walls of a department store building were obliterated, with shards of windows scattered on the streets.
More than 2.2 million homes were left in the dark across 14 prefectures, including the Tokyo region. Homes and buildings were destroyed.
Power was restored at most places by sunrise.
In all, four people met their demise, including a man in his sixties in Soma city in Fukushima who was killed after falling from the second floor of his house. And a septuagenarian man died of a heart attack.
What's more, more than 107 others were injured when the quake struck.
Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures suffered the brunt of the earthquake.
A bullet train derailed while travelling from Fukushima to Miyagi. But miraculously, nobody was injured.
Passengers were stranded in many train stations across the area.
For safety's sake, the Japanese Meteorological Agency issued a low-risk advisory for a tsunami along the coasts of Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures, which has been lifted earlier today.
Tsunami waves of 30 centimetres high were seen, but didn't wreak any havoc after all.
The region where the earthquake struck also witnessed the 2011 nuclear disaster.
Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority reported that a fire alarm went off at the No.5 reactor at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, but no fire was spotted.
Water pumps for the spent fuel cooling pool at two of the four reactors at the plant momentarily stopped, but later resumed operation.
Having survived the tsunami and earthquake that sent Japan making all the running to prevent another nuclear conundrum, the Fukushima Daini plant is also set for decommissioning.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said during a press conference that the Japanese government was assessing the extent of damage and promised to strain every sinew in rescue and relief
operations.
Possible major aftershocks may occur in the coming days.
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