united states washinton weather
The powerful earthquake that hit Japan's western coast on New Year's Day has underscored the country's exposure to natural disasters, casting fresh doubt over a push to bring its nuclear capacity back online. Nuclear power plants dot the coast of mountainous Japan, which is prone to earthquakes and tsunamis due to its location on the seismically active "Ring of Fire" around the Pacific Ocean. Monday's magnitude-7.6 earthquake, which has killed more than 80 people in the Hokuriku region, destroyed infrastructure and left homes without power, struck days after regulators lifted an operational ban on the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). At least 64 people were killed in the massive earthquake of 7.5 magnitude that struck the Noto Peninsula and surrounding areas in central Japan on Monday, Kyodo News reported. The rubble and severed roads still prevent search and rescue operations in the quake-hit regions. Th...