Powerful quakes rock Tokyo, Sumatra and Christchurch

A major 7.0-magnitude earthquake rocked Tokyo yesterday as Emperor Akihito led Japan’s New Year celebrations by urging people to work together in rebuilding the nation from March’s quake-tsunami disaster.

The tremor struck at 2.28 p.m. (0528 GMT) with its focus deep at about 370 kilometres, Japan’s Meteorological Agency said. Its epicentre was located near Torishima, a northwestern Pacific island about 560 kilometres south of Tokyo.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injury and no tsunami warning was issued. The mid-afternoon quake swayed buildings in Tokyo and surrounding areas but it did not disrupt the final of the Emperor’s Cup football tournament under way at the National Stadium.

Train runs and airline flights in and around the capital area were not affected.

Meanwhile the earthquake-devastated New Zealand city of Christchurch was rattled yesterday by a 5.0-magnitude tremor although there were no immediate reports of damage.

The quake struck at a relatively shallow depth of 19 kilometres, around 18 kilometres east of Christchurch at 5.45 a.m. yesterday, according to the US Geological Survey.

Christchurch, New Zealand’s second most populous city, was battered by a powerful 6.3-magnitude earthquake in February last year that left 181 people dead and destroyed much of its centre. The city has been hit by a series of strong aftershocks since causing fear among residents and further damage to property.

New Zealand sits on the so-called “Ring of Fire”, the boundary of the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates, and experiences up to 15,000 tremors a year.

Later yesterday a 5.3-magnitude earthquake also rattled the northern tip of Indonesia but there were no immediate reports of damage. The quake struck at a shallow depth of one kilometre around 160 kilometres southeast of Banda Aceh on Indonesia’s Sumatra island at 2.09 a.m.

Aceh province is frequently hit by earthquakes and was devasted by the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, where the meeting of continental plates causes strong seismic activity including earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.