7.4 Earthquake Rocks Japan

A powerful earthquake rocked northeast Japan today, prompting a tsunami alert.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the 7.4 magnitude quake struck off the east coast of Honshu, about 144 kilometers from the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which was damaged by a massive earthquake and tsunami last month.

Buildings as far away as Tokyo shook for about a minute.

There were no immediate reports of damage.

Tepco, the company which operates Fukushima, says it evacuated all workers at the plant.

It said: "We don't know if there is any impact to the facilities as all the workers have cleared the area."

The quake that preceded last month's tsunami was of 9.0 magnitude.

compiled from agency reports