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

TOKYO (AP) — 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. Most public transportation services were operating normally, 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.

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.