Earth Changes
There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage to property on Friday and no abnormalities were found at the region's nuclear power facilities, including the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, according to the Nuclear Regulation Authority.
The quake occurred at 8.58am (0958 AEST), its epicentre off the coast of Fukushima prefecture at a depth of 40 kilometres, the Meteorological Agency said.
In February, a magnitude-7.3 quake also struck the northeast, killing one person and injuring about 190 others.
Japan recently observed the 10th anniversary of the magnitude 9.0 quake and resulting tsunami in the same region on March 11, 2011, which left about 18,400 dead or missing.

Andres is the earliest eastern tropical Pacific (to 140°W) named storm formation on record
Andres formed off the southwest coast of Mexico Sunday, had sustained winds of 40 mph and moved out to sea at six mph.
"Increasing southwesterly to westerly shear and drier air to the west of the cyclone should prevent any significant additional strengthening," the National Hurricane Center said Sunday.
The Ministry of Emergency Situations (EMERCOM) in Khabarovsk Krai reported on 10 May that levels of the Amur River in the Khabarovsk Territory were rising as a result of snow melt and ice jams.
On 10 May the Amur reached 6.3 metres at Takhta, Khabarovsk Krai, Russia. Danger levels are 5.5 metres.
As of 12 May, over 60 homes were flooded in Nikolayevsky District, prompting some evacuations. Areas of Ulchsky District were also flooded. As of 13 May, EMERCOM said teams have rescued or evacuated 116 people, including 32 children.
On 23 April the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) reported flooding in Tana River, Busia, Kisumu, Garissa and Marsabit Counties. IFRC reported 2 fatalities and 25,958 people (4,493 households) displaced. Wide areas of crops were damaged in the Tana River basin.
Further heavy rain from around 08 May has caused flooding in at least 7 counties. On 10 May, KRC said heavy rain over the weekend caused flooding in Homa Bay and Baringo counties.
On 11 May Kenya National Highways Authority reported several sections of roads in the Lake Victoria basin were affected by flooding, leaving some lakeside communities isolated.

Landslide damage in Nyamasheke district, Rwanda, May 2021.
The landslide struck on 09 May 2021 following a period of heavy rainfall. Over 100 homes were damaged, with 39 reportedly completely destroyed. Officials of Western Province Government said 631 people from 117 families were displaced as a result.
In late April a landslide in Gahunga Sector of Burera District, Northern Province left 1 person dead and damaged or destroyed around 200 houses, along with crops and livestock.
Heavy rainfall affected other areas of the country around this time. Capital Kigali recorded 84 mm of rain in 24 hours to 09 May.
On 10 May Meteo Rwanda warned of heavy rainfall (40mm to 120mm) between 11 and 20 May 2021 across the country, with intense rainfall activities expected in Northern part of the country.
The quake was recorded around 9:42 GMT Thursday at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) under the northern Pacific Ocean, some 150 kilometers (93 miles) southeast of Punta de Burica, Panama.
The USGS said little or no population was exposed to the quake. No tsunami warning has been issued.
No other details were immediately available.
Source: AP
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said among the dead include 14 children and seven internally displaced people.
OCHA said riverine flooding has affected an estimated 25,000 people in 15 villages in Jowhar in Middle Shabelle region, displacing people in eight villages and inundating farms.
The heavy rains have hit various parts of Somalia over the past week, triggering flash floods that have killed and displaced people, but a forecast suggests the rains will begin to subside from mid-May.

Aurora Borealis taken on May 12, 2021 @ The Sandhill Crane Marsh, Alberta, Canada.
The G3-class disturbance lasted 6 full hours. Only one thing stopped sky watchers in Europe and many US states from seeing the auroras: The sun came up. Daylight blotted out an otherwise memorable display.
The storm is subsiding now. Minor G1-class storms are possible on May 13th as Earth exits the CME's wake.
A seemingly endless snow season has gripped the Mile High City, where flakes first flew in early September and fell again late Monday into Tuesday. A coating to a few inches of snow covered much of the Denver region Tuesday morning.
The snow accumulated mostly on grassy areas and caused few problems, but it extended one of Denver's longest snow seasons on record, spanning 245 days.
The first flakes of the season fell in the city on Sept. 8, when an inch fell just one day after high temperatures in the 90s. It was the first measurable September snow since 1994.
While small amounts of snow fell in October (four inches), November (five inches), December (seven inches) and January (3.1 inches), it wasn't until February that Denver really started to get dumped on.
"Seems like in February things seemed to turn around," said Jim Kalina, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Boulder, Colo. "February [with 13.5 inches of snow], March [34 inches] and April [12.6 inches] were all above normal."












Comment: Earlier report: Deadly floods strike Mogadishu, rivers overflow in Jowhar, Somalia