Seabed moved 24 metres near epicentre of Japan earthquake

M&C: 

Tokyo - The seabed close to the epicentre of the March 11 earthquake has moved some 24 metres east-south-east and risen about 3 metres, according to a Japan Coast Guard survey released Wednesday.

The magnitude-9 temblor that jolted north-eastern Japan struck at a depth of 24 kilometres, the Meteorological Agency said. The crustal movement was measured around 130 kilometres off the Oshika Peninsula in Miyagi Prefecture in north-eastern Japan.

The seabed's movement was more than four times that of the peninsula itself - east-south-east by 5.3 metres - according to the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan.

A point about 40 kilometres toward the coast from the epicentre has moved some 15 metres east-south-east, Kyodo News reported citing the survey.

The earthquake, the largest ever recorded in Japan, and the resultant tsunami killed a confirmed 12,494 people, but as of 4 pm (0700 GMT) on Wednesday, another 15,107 people were listed as missing, Japan's National Police Agency said.