Tsunami/earthquake damage in Otsuchi (Iwate Prefecture. Tōhoku Region)
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On Friday, a strong earthquake of 6.2 magnitude took place to the east of Miyagi Prefecture (Tōhoku Region), according to NHK-TV. The quake occurred at 20.36 local time (14.36 MSK 11.36 UTC 07.36 EDT 04.36 PDT); its epicentre was some 40 kilometres (25 miles) offshore. RIA-Novosti reported that the authorities didn’t issue a new tsunami warning. On 11 March, a devastating earthquake of 9.0 magnitude happened in northeastern Japan, causing a tsunami with a wave height of ten metres. According to police, there are 10,035 dead confirmed dead as the result of the quake, and 17,443 are missing. After the earthquake occurred, a series of accidents caused by the failure of its cooling system plagued NPP Fukushima-1. The authorities discovered several radiation leaks, forcing them to evacuate people from a 20-kilometre (12.5 mile) exclusion zone around the plant, as well as a ban on flights over the station within a 30-kilometre (19 mile) radius. Later, information surfaced about the discovery in some parts of Japan of radioactive elements, in particular, isotopes of iodine and caesium, in the air, in the sea, and in drinking water, as well as in food.
25 March 2011
Voice of Russia World Service
Voices from Russia 
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