Magnitude 7.4 quake hits off Japan coast

By Lee Jin-man, AP

Hotel guests are seen after they evacuated the building following an aftershock, in Ichinoseki, Iwate Prefecture, Japan, Friday, April 8.

EnlargeCloseBy Lee Jin-man, AP

Hotel guests are seen after they evacuated the building following an aftershock, in Ichinoseki, Iwate Prefecture, Japan, Friday, April 8.

The strongest aftershock since the day of the magnitude-9.0 megaquake was a fresh blow to victims of that March 11 quake and subsequent tsunami that killed some 25,000 people, tore apart hundreds of thousands of homes and has sparked an ongoing crisis at a nuclear power plant.

Damage and injuries from the aftershock were not immediately clear. The Japan meteorological agency briefly issued another tsunami warning Thursday night, but later canceled it.

Officials at the tsunami-ravaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant said there was no immediate sign of new problems caused by the aftershock. Japan's nuclear safety agency says workers there have retreated to a quake-resistant shelter in the complex. No one there was injured.

Officials say Thursday's aftershock hit 30 miles under the water and off the coast of Miyagi prefecture. The quake that preceded last month's tsunami was a 9.0-magnitude. The U.S. Geological Survey in Golden, Colo., later downgraded Thursday's quake to 7.1.

Buildings as far away as Tokyo shook for about a minute.

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