New earthquake hits Japan
15:36 11/04/2011 MOSCOW, April 11 (RIA Novosti) - A magnitude 7.1 quake struck northeastern Japan on Monday, leading authorities to expand the evacuation area around its crippled Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant.
The earthquake, with the epicenter 164 kilometers east northeast of Tokyo, caused the stoppage of power supply pumping water to cool the crippled plant's reactors.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said earlier in the day residents in areas between 20 and 30 kilometers around Fukushima would be advised to evacuate due to accumulated radiation exposure levels.
One such area is the village of Iitate in the Fukushima prefecture located 30 kilometers from the power plant.
Iitate Mayor Norio Kanno told NHK he was against an evacuation because radiation levels in the village remained low.
The death toll from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan currently stands at 12,690 with more than 14,700 people missing.
The twin disaster knocked out the cooling systems at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant, raising concerns over radiation leaks.
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