A 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit the coast of Japan Fukushima this morning (Nov 22) at 5.59am. The shockwave sent tsunami waves towering over 1m to the coast and briefly shut down the cooling system of the 3rd reactor of the devastated Fukushima nuclear power plant.
According to media reports, the earthquake broke a pump of the cooling system meant to circulate water to cool the nuclear fuel. The temperature of the nuclear fuel at No. 3 of Tepco’s Fukushima No. 2 power plant went up to 28.7 degree celsius at 6am but the cooling system were brought ready again in just 90 minutes. The operational limit for the spent nuclear fuel rods is 65 degree celsius and it takes around 7 days to breach the safety limit. The Japanese authorities declared that there is no nuclear leakage from today’s quake.
The earthquake saw 7 aftershocks after the first shake, but tsunami waves reported were non-threatening. There is no report on damages as of press time but 6 people sustained minor injuries during the ordeal.
In 11 March 2011, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake hit the nuclear power plant in Fukushima, resulting in radioactive material leakage. The site and it’s 20km radius were condoned off, and has since remained unsafe for human access even today. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, today’s quake is a remnant quake from the 2011 quake.