Recovery efforts are under way in northern Japan after an earthquake of 7.3-magnitude-7.3 struck off Fukushima, leaving at least 124 injured and causing temporary power outages across the region.
No deaths were reported, according to public broadcaster NHK confirmedsaid, but residents preparing to mark the 10th anniversary of the massive tremor on March 11, 2011 said they were frightened by Saturday's jolt – which the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said was considered an aftershock of the destructive earthquake.
The earthquake and tsunami in 2011 led to a meltdown at three nuclear units of Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant and left about 19,000 people dead or missing.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Sunday that no incidents were reported from the nuclear power plants.
"I was at home … the shaking was so strong I became truly afraid for my physical safety," Masami Nakai, a municipal official in Soma city in northern Fukushima, told AFP.
Images posted online showed a car crushed by a rock lantern in the car park of a Shinto shrine, while another showed broken glass and items thrown from the shelves at a shop.
Authorities were assessing the impact of a landslide on a highway, government spokesman Katsunobu Kato said, and aerial TV footage showed another landslide at a remote race circuit.
The government reported partial damage to eight structures, mostly houses, while local media said dozens of buildings had suffered broken ceilings and broken water pipes.
Mr Kato warned residents about the possibility of strong aftershocks in the next week and further landslides due to heavy rain forecast.
Energy companies reported no damage to nuclear power plants in the region.
NHK reported, citing Tokyo Electric Power Co, that there was a minor overflow of water from the pool that stores used nuclear fuels at the Fukushima nuclear plants, but no uncontrolled radiation activities were seen.
About 13 thermal power plants in Fukushima and Miyagi stayed offline after the earthquake, with some expected to restart on Sunday.
More than 830,000 households in the Tohoku and Kanto regions experienced power outages, but supply resumed in most areas by Sunday morning.
NTT Docomo Inc said some of its service areas in Tohoku were affected but operations had returned to normal bias of Sunday. Some areas in Fukushima are still without water supply, a local paper reported.
East Japan Railway Co said part of its high-speed bullet and local train line services would remain suspended until Monday due to damages to electrical lines.
East Nippon Expressway Co said it had closed a line connecting Fukushima and Miyagi due to a landslide. Local media reported no injuries from the landslide.
Watch: The moment the earthquake hit
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
$1,000 award for 1,000 days on madrasa portal
Daily cash awards of $1,000 dollars will sweeten the Madrasa e-learning project by tempting more pupils to an education portal to deepen their understanding of math and sciences.
School children are required to watch an educational video each day and answer a question related to it. They then enter into a raffle draw for the $1,000 prize.
“We are targeting everyone who wants to learn. This will be $1,000 for 1,000 days so there will be a winner every day for 1,000 days,” said Sara Al Nuaimi, project manager of the Madrasa e-learning platform that was launched on Tuesday by the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to reach Arab pupils from kindergarten to grade 12 with educational videos.
“The objective of the Madrasa is to become the number one reference for all Arab students in the world. The 5,000 videos we have online is just the beginning, we have big ambitions. Today in the Arab world there are 50 million students. We want to reach everyone who is willing to learn.”
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
India squads
Test squad against Afghanistan: Rahane (c), Dhawan, Vijay, Rahul, Pujara, Karun, Saha, Ashwin, Jadeja, Kuldeep, Umesh, Shami, Pandya, Ishant, Thakur.
T20 squad against Ireland and England: Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rohit, Rahul, Raina, Pandey, Dhoni, Karthik, Chahal, Kuldeep, Sundar, Bhuvneshwar, Bumrah, Pandya, Kaul, Umesh.
ODI squad against England: Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rohit, Rahul, Shreyas, Rayudu, Dhoni, Karthik, Chahal, Kuldeep, Sundar, Bhuvneshwar, Bumrah, Pandya, Kaul, Umesh
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Honeymoonish
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, semi-final result:
Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona
Liverpool win 4-3 on aggregate
Champions Legaue final: June 1, Madrid
