Tuesday, August 16 2005 10:47 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Tokyo: A magnitude 6.8 earthquake hit north-eastern Japan today (Aug 16, 2005), triggering a tsunami alert for a stretch of the country's Pacific coast and shaking buildings in Tokyo, more than 300 kilometers away, the Meteorological Agency said.

About 80 people were injured when the roof on an indoor pool collapsed in the coastal city of Sendai, national broadcaster NHK reported. Two more people were injured in the neighbouring prefecture (state) of Iwata, Kyodo News Agency reported.

Bullet train service was suspended in northern Japan, while Tokyo's Haneda airport temporarily halted flights, Kyodo said.

The quake hit around 11:46 am (08:26 hrs IST) and was centered 20 km below the ocean floor about 80 km off the coast of Miyagi prefecture (state) in north-eastern Japan, the agency said.

A 10 centimetre (4 inch) tsunami hit the nearby coast shortly after noon, and there were no immediate reports of damage.

Sendai is about 302 kilometers northeast of Tokyo.

The US Geological Survey registered the quake with a 7 magnitude.

Earlier in the day, a 4.9 magnitude earthquake shook Japan's northern island of Hokkaido.