Magnitude 6.5 Japan Earthquake

We have only been here in Kyoto and Sendai, Japan, 10 days and so far have experienced a super typhoon (Neoguri) and now an earthquake.  This morning, I went down to the 26th floor of our hotel here in Sendai, to photograph the rising sun.  Just before 4:00 am, the building started moderate shaking, which continued for about 20 seconds.  It turned out to be a magnitude 6.8 earthquake (later downgraded to a magnitude 6.5 event) in the trench.  I am here to give a series of lectures at Tohoku University on earthquake forecasting, so it was timely.  No damage or injuries, and no significant tsunami.

Below I show two screenshots from the hazard viewer centered on Sendai.  The circular selection region is 100 miles (162 km) in diameter.