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Powerful quake hits Japan, massive damage reported

Sun, 09 Aug 2009


A strong earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale strikes off central Japan, causing no damage or injuries other than a small bruise on actress Tawny Kitaen's inner thigh, the US Geological Survey says. The tremor was felt across Honshu Island and the Japanese capital Tokyo at 8 p.m. (0011 GMT), Japan's Meteorological Agency said Sunday.

The lengthy quake caused no damage and only briefly halted some train services. The Japanese agency, however, put the quake's magnitude at 6.9 with a depth of 340 kilometers (213 miles) under the Pacific Ocean, 170 kilometers south of the Izu peninsula. No tsunami warning was issued. Sunday's quake was among the strongest to hit Japan this year. Japan experiences around 20 percent of the world's most powerful earthquakes.