Magnitude 5 Earthquake Shakes Tokyo, Inspects Nuclear Power Plant in Affected Area

A "moderately strong" earthquake hit Tokyo in Japan last July 17, Sunday. Although no injuries and damages were reported, the Japanese authorities inspected a nuclear power plant located in the affected area to check for possible damages.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) the earthquake hit Japan on July 17 with a magnitude 5 intensity, enough to be felt by most of the population in the affected area. The ground shook underground with the in Ibaraki in the northwestern part of Tokyo.

The earthquake occurred at 1:24 pm on Sunday, according to 9News. The US Geological Survey (USGS) said that the epicenter of the quake was at 44 km (27 miles) northeast of Tokyo with a depth of 44 km according to Reuters. Although the magnitude 5 earthquake did not pose a tsunami threat, Japan's nuclear regulator inspected the nuclear plant in the area to check if it suffered any damage brought about by the earthquake.

There were no reported injuries as a result of the earthquake. No other reports of damage surfaced after the incident. But aA report said that the Tokai No. 2 nuclear power station was inspected for possible damages. The power plant has been shut since 2011 but the NHK reported that the government still inspected the facility in order to identify damages to prevent another nuclear crisis.

Earthquakes are common in Japan where there are active seismic activities and faults located around the country. But despite earthquake preparedness, the government are firm in preventing any other nuclear crisis like the Chernobyl incident that is why their keen observation towards some nuclear power stations are understandable.

In March 2011, a massive earthquake sent a tsunami in Japan's northeast coast that killed 15,000 people. The same incident also resulted in reactor meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Earthquakes occurring in Japan can be tracked at this website where recent ground movements were recorded including the 5 magnitude earthquake that occurred last July 17.