Economic Observer Online
Translated by Tang Xiangyang
Original article:[Chinese]

A powerful earthquake struck the northeast coast of Japan earlier today, causing buildings to sway in Tokyo and triggering warnings of a 10 meter tsunami.

According to the US Geological Survey website, an 8.9 magnitude earthquake struck off the north coast of Japan at 1.46pm Beijing time. The massive earthquake, is the fifth largest to strike anywhere in the world since 1900 and was followed by a series of strong aftershocks.

Office workers in Chinese cities as far from the epicenter as Beijing and Shanghai, said they felt the earthquake and have been sharing their experience via micro-blogs.

A microblogger in Beijing shared her experience with other weibo users, describing how "our office is on the 25th floor at Dawanglu (in Beijing's central business district). It was shaking very hard. Everyone in the office felt it."

Wang Mimi, another Beijing based micro-blogger writes: "The 32nd floor of Wanda Plaza felt the rocking. We felt light headed, and had to leave."

One blogger even took photos of the crowd that gathered outside his office. "It was an earthquake," he wrote,"the administrative office told us to evacuate the building."

The official micro-blog of Shanghai's Metro Express writes that the Shanghai Earthquake Bureau confirmed to them that it had received calls about the earthquake from Shanghai residents. Most of the calls came from those working in high rises in the Xujiahui area.

The Earthquake Bureau added that residents should not be alarmed, since the center of the earthquake is in Japan and it is unlikely to significantly impact Shanghai.

Links and Sources:

Economic Observer Online: 微博網友熱議日本地震 中國部分城市有震感 (Chinese)
Image: Wall Street Journal\'s Real Time Japan Blog
NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center
US Geological Survey