Strong quake jolts central Japan, no tsunami alert (6.1)

Source: Reuters

Aug 2 (Reuters) - A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.1 jolted central and eastern Japan on Monday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, but it did not issue a tsunami alert.

The quake, which occurred at 11:58 p.m. (1458 GMT), was also felt in Tokyo. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

The focus of the tremor was 20 km (12 miles) below the surface of the earth, off the coast of Shizuoka prefecture, about 200 km west of Tokyo, the Meteorological Agency said.

All reactors at Chubu Electric Power's Hamaoka nuclear power plant in Shizuoka are shut after Prime Minister Naoto Kan called for its closure, citing research showing that the area is at particularly high risk for a major earthquake within the next few decades.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/01/japan-quake-idUSL3E7J12YZ20110801?feedType=RSS&feedName=marketsNews&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=DTN+USA%3A&utm_source=twitterfeed

They're going to have to start nailing down the furniture there

http://earthquake-report.com/2011/08/01/quake-flash-report-very-strong-shallow-earthquake-with-epicenter-in-the-middle-of-the-suruga-bay-japan/

Earthquake overview : Very strong shallow earthquake with epicenter in the middle of the Suruga Bay. The earthquake occurred just before midnight and was felt as far as Tokyo as a light shaking.

Intensity map courtesy JMA Japan - Yellow coloring : 5- intensity

UPDATE 18:39 UTC : Based on this new USGS data, we are anxiously awaiting the Fire Departments assessment reports for Shizuoka.

UPDATE 18:37 UTC : USGS has updated his numbers. After recalculation they are reporting :
Magnitude : Mw 6.2
Depth : 10 km!
32 km (19 miles) S of Shizuoka, Honshu, Japan
60 km (37 miles) SW of Numazu, Honshu, Japan

UPDATE 16:01 UTC : EMSC has calculated its epicenter only 7 km from Oigawa (23,475 people). Yaizu, which has a population of 121,057 is at only 10 km following EMSC.

shallow too..whole lotta shaking goin' on