Strong earthquakes shake area near Japanese region hit by Jan. 1 fatal disaster, but no tsunami

TOKYO — Strong earthquakes early Monday struck Japan’s north-central region of Ishikawa that was hit by Jan. 1 fatal quake, but authorities said there was no danger of a tsunami.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said a magnitude 5.9 quake hit a northern tip of the Noto Peninsula. Minutes later, a tremor of magnitude 4.8 occurred.

The agency said there was no danger of tsunami from the two earthquakes. There were no reports of damage or injuries. Shinkansen super-express trains and other train services were temporarily suspended for safety checks but most of them resumed, according to West Japan Railway Co.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority said no abnormalities were found at two nearby nuclear power plants. One of them, the Shika plant on the Noto Peninsula, had minor damage, though officials said that did not affect cooling functions of the two reactors. Hokuriku Electric Power Co. said there were no power outages.

Monday’s rattlings rekindled fear among the residents who are still struggling to recover from damages from the New Year quake. NHK public television showed a number of people who came out of their homes and temporary shelters to see if there were additional damage.

In Wajima City, which was one of the hardest-hit in the New Year quake, an inn operator told NHK that he immediately ducked under the desk at the reception when the first quake struck Monday. Nothing fell to the floor or broke, but it reminded him of the January shakings and made him worry that a big quake like that occurred even five months later.

The Jan. 1 magnitude 7.6 quake that hit the Noto Peninsula killed 241 people. Damages still remain and many of the residents have evacuated.

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