7.3-magnitude earthquake strikes off Japan

A tsunami warning is in effect for Japan's Fukushima Prefecture after a 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck off Honshu at 5:59 a.m. Tuesday (3:59 p.m. Monday ET), according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

A tsunami wave of 1-3 meters (3-10 feet) is possible, according to the agency. The US Geological Survey put the magnitude at 6.9, striking 37 kilometers (23 miles) east-southeast of Namie off the country's east coast at a depth of 11.4 kilometers (7 miles).

Two aftershocks were reported by USGS, one 5.4 and one 4.8.

Several tsunami waves have been spotted off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture, CNN affiliate NHK reported. One was spotted 22 kilometers off the coast of Iwaki City; a 90-centimeter wave was reported at Port of Soma; a 60-centimeter wave was reported at Port of Onahama.

Video on social media from Onahama featured sounds of sirens in response to the warning in effect. Images of the port showed waves that the broadcaster described as "backwash" that happens before a tsunami hits shore.

NHK urged the public to evacuate, cautioning that even if waves appear low in the ocean they can rise as they reach shore. The broadcaster reminded people to dress warmly in the cold rain and urged them to help others leave.

"Please do not think that you are safe. Please evacuate to high grounds," the network said. "Please think about the worst-case scenario and evacuate right away."

Earthquakes are common in Japan. The most recent was a 6.2 magnitude in late October near Kurayoshi, a city to the west of Osaka, which caused a handful of injuries.

The epicenter of this latest earthquake was not far south of the 2011 quake that caused a devastating tsunami, damaged nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant and killed more than 15,000 people. The devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan will rank among the costliest natural disasters on record.

The 2011 quake moved Japan's coast 8 feet and shifted the Earth's axis, ranking among the costliest natural disasters on record.

Tokyo Electric Power Company Inc. said there had been no abnormalities or change in radiation levels at Fukushima Daiichi. Authorities are working to confirm reports that the reactor's cooling system stopped, NHK reported.

There is no tsunami threat to Hawaii as a result of the quake, the Honolulu Department of Emergency Management said.

Developing story - more to come

CNN's Radina Gigova and Taylor Ward contributed to this report.

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NASA to Los Angeles: Get ready for 5.0 quake

((NEWSER) – NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is out with a study predicting that Los Angeles has a 99.9% chance of experiencing an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.0 or greater within the next two and a half years.

"There’s enough energy stored to produce about a magnitude 6.1 to 6.3 earthquake" with an epicenter in La Habra, which was hit by a quake in 2014, says a JPL geophysicist, per CBS LA. Earthquake scientists used information from the La Habra quake to make their predictions, and found that there's a 35% chance of an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.0 or greater, the Los Angeles Daily News reports.

But other experts aren't convinced; KPCC goes so far as to call the JPL study "controversial."

As the US Geological Survey notes, "the accepted random chance of a (magnitude 5.0) or greater in this area in three years is 85%, independent of the analysis in this paper." Plus, JPL's research "has not yet been examined by the long-established committees that evaluate earthquake forecasts and predictions made by scientists," the USGS says, per LA Weekly. "The lack of details on the method of analysis makes a critical assessment of this approach very difficult."

And, as one Caltech seismologist who read the study notes, "As far as I’m concerned there has never been a successful earthquake prediction, and a scientific breakthrough would be required for us to make a scientifically based prediction." But, he adds, since earthquakes tend to cluster, it's not much of a stretch to assume there will be another one in La Habra. (Only a single survivor remains from another California earthquake.)

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Afghanistan and Pakistan Hit by Huge Earthquake

KABUL, Afghanistan — A deadly earthquake hit northern Afghanistan and Pakistan on Monday afternoon, registering a preliminary magnitude of 7.5 and causing heavy damage in one of the world’s most impoverished and war-torn regions.

At least 122 people were reported killed, with 100 or more of them in Pakistan, and that figure seemed likely to rise significantly, officials in both countries said.

The quake, which struck at 1:39 p.m., was centered in the Hindu Kush mountain range, about 28 miles southwest of the district of Jurm in Afghanistan and about 160 miles northeast of Kabul, the Afghan capital. The quake’s depth was reported at 132 miles, the United States Geological Survey said, and its effects were felt as far away as New Delhi.

People poured into the streets of Kabul, where buildings shook for at least two minutes, and similar scenes played out in Islamabad and Peshawar in Pakistan. Officials in both countries declared emergencies, and military units were ordered to join the response.

In Pakistan, provincial authorities in Peshawar said at least 63 people had been killed in surrounding Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province. Severe tolls were also expected in other remote regions of the north, including in the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas, but no immediate confirmation of exact numbers was available because of a breakdown in communications systems.

Reverberations were felt across several provinces in Afghanistan, particularly in northern areas that had already been in turmoil because of a widespread Taliban offensive. There, too, the shaking damaged communication lines, making initial damage difficult to assess.

In Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, people ran out into the open as the earthquake rattled the city. Panic was widespread in neighborhoods with high-rises and multistory apartment blocks, and hundreds of shopkeepers and customers swarmed the main avenue in Blue Area, a commercial neighborhood.

In the northern city of Peshawar, Mehreen Ali, 30, a dentist, said she was sitting in a car outside a shopping plaza when the vehicle started shaking.

“I thought the car was shaking as the driver was leaning against it,” Ms. Ali said. “Then suddenly, people started coming out of the building in front. People were staring at the building as if it was about to fall as it shook.”

In the northern valley of Swat, at least 35 people were killed, local officials said. At least 100 houses were damaged.

Shazia Bibi, 34, said a wall of her house collapsed, injuring her on the head and back. “I was rushing out of the house when the wall collapsed,” Ms. Bibi said from a hospital bed.

Zahir Shah, a resident of Mingora in Swat Valley, said he was sitting in a vehicle with a friend when buildings around them started to shake. They quickly sped away and into an open area for safety. Mr. Shah said he could not reach his relatives in remote areas of the valley as mobile and landline phones were not working.

Hospital officials in Swat said at least 250 people had been brought in for treatment by Monday evening.

Landslides were reported in the mountainous Pakistani regions of Gilgit and Chitral, as boulders fell on to the roads, cutting off many areas. Damage was reported in more central parts of the country as well: In Punjab Province, at least 10 people were wounded when a school wall collapsed in the city of Sargodha.

In Afghanistan, the country’s chief executive, Abdullah Abdullah, called an emergency meeting of senior officials to respond to the disaster. “This is the strongest earthquake that has happened in our country in recent years,” Mr. Abdullah said, warning of the possibility of aftershocks.

Telephone services were disrupted across a wide section of northern Afghanistan. The roll call of affected provinces closely mirrored those hardest hit by surging Taliban attacks in recent months.

In Takhar Province, the collapse of a school building left 12 students dead and 40 others injured, according to Sunatullah Taimoor, a spokesman for the Takhar provincial governor. Some of the victims, all girls aged 6 to 16, were killed in a stampede, he said.

In Baghlan Province, 12 students were injured after a high school collapsed in the city of Pul-i-Kumri, according to Mohammad Nasir Kohzad, the provincial head of national disaster management. Extensive damage was also reported in the areas of Borka and Aq Kotal.

In Nangarhar Province, health officials said seven people were killed and 77 others injured.

In Parwan Province, three people were killed and 13 injured, and 50 houses collapsed, according to Bahauddin Jilani, the leader of the provincial council.

South Asia, where the Indian tectonic plate collides with the Eurasian plate, has a history of devastating earthquakes. In April, more than 8,700 people were killed in Nepal’s worst earthquake in 80 years. And in 2005, tens of thousands were killed in a 7.6 magnitude earthquake centered in the Kashmir region.

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Tsunami advisory for Hawaii, California after Chile quake

Hawaii and part of California's coast are under tsunami advisories after an 8.3-magnitude earthquake off the coast of north Chile.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center had originally issued a watch for Hawaii, saying a tsunami may have been generated by Wednesday's earthquake. They later downgraded the alert to an advisory, saying that current data indicated there would be no major tsunami in the state, but that sea-level changes and dangerous currents could pose a threat to those in or near the water.

The center estimated that the effects from the tsunami would arrive in Hawaii about 3 a.m. (6 a.m. PDT) Thursday.

A similar advisory was issued for southern and central California.

8.3 magnitude quake shakes Chile capital, causes buildings to sway

That advisory affects about 300 miles of coastline stretching from the southern end of Orange County to most of San Luis Obispo County on the central coast.

The possible changes associated with the advisory are expected to hit first in the south at about 4:45 a.m. PDT Thursday and move north in the minutes that follow.

A watch means that a tsunami is possible, but it doesn't mean it will happen, said Chevy Chevalier, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Honolulu.

"A watch is for everybody to be aware of it, that it's a possibility," he said. "A warning means it's happening right now or it's imminent."

The powerful earthquake shook Chile's capital, causing buildings to sway and people to take refuge in the streets. Several strong aftershocks hit within minutes as tsunami alarms sounded in the nearby port of Valparaiso. There were no immediate reports of injuries, but authorities said some adobe houses collapsed in the inland city of Illapel, about 175 miles (280 kilometers) north of Santiago.

A tsunami warning was last issued for Hawaii in 2012, after a powerful earthquake off the coast of Canada. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center lifted its tsunami advisory three hours after downgrading from a warning and less than six hours after the waves first hit the islands. The state was spared from severe surges.

The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency said state officials are standing by, awaiting updates from the warning center.

On the Big Island, officials were bracing to be the first island affected, county spokesman Ilihia Gionson said. Officials were gathered Wednesday in the county's emergency operations center in Hilo, he said.

"It's too early to tell," he said. "This early it's best to just stay informed.Read More >>

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