A massive earthquake of 7.6 magnitude hit central Japan on Monday, triggering a tsunami warning and advisories for residents to evacuate and prepare for possible aftershocks.
The Japan Meteorological Agency has issued tsunami warnings for the coastal prefectures of Ishikawa, Niigata and Toyama. A tsunami around 1 metre high struck parts of the west coast along the Sea of Japan, with a larger wave expected, NHK reported.
In an emergency press conference, top government spokesperson Hayashi Yoshimasa said that authorities were still checking the extent of the damage and warned residents to prepare for possible further quakes.
Footage aired by NHK appeared to show buildings collapsing in Ishikawa, and tremors shook buildings in the capital Tokyo on the opposite coast. Hokuriku’s Shika plant in Ishikawa, which was located the closest to the quake’s epicentre, had already halted its two reactors before the quake for regular inspection and saw no impact from the quake, the agency said.
Here are the top five updates:
- A succession of 21 earthquakes registering 4.0 magnitude or stronger struck central Japan in just over 90 minutes on Monday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. The strongest jolt measured 7.6, it said. The quakes prompted tsunami warnings and authorities urged people in the area to move to higher ground.
- The first tsunami waves, some more than a metre high, arrived on the north coast of central Japan on Monday after a series of powerful earthquakes rocked the region. Waves as high as 1.2 meters (four feet) hit Wajima port in Ishikawa prefecture at 4:21 pm, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
- Around 33,500 households were without power around the epicentre of a series of major earthquakes in central Japan, local utilities said. The areas affected were the Toyama, Ishikawa and Niigata prefectures on the Sea of Japan side of Japan’s main island of Honshu.
- Several major highways were closed on Monday around the epicentre of a series of major earthquakes in central Japan, the road operator said. Shinkansen bullet train services were also suspended between Tokyo and the epicentre in the Noto region in Ishikawa prefecture on the Sea of Japan side of Japan’s main island of Honshu, Japan Railways said.
- No abnormalities have been reported so far after a series of major earthquakes rocked central Japan on Monday, the government said. “It has been confirmed that there are no abnormalities at Shika nuclear power plant (in Ishikawa) and other stations as of now,” government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said.
- Japanese broadcaster NHK issued a major tsunami warnings for the following Japanese prefectures: Noto, Ishikawa. It noted that waves as high as 5 metres have reached the location at the time of writing this report.
- NHK issued tsunami warnings for the following prefectures and areas: Yamagata; Sado Island, Joetsu, Chuetsu and Kaetsu of the Niigata Prefecture; Toyama; Fukui; Northern Hyogo
- Tsunami advisories have been issued for the following prefectures and locations: Hokkaido’s western Pacific coast; Hokkaido’s northern Sea of Japan coast; Hokkaido’s southern Sea of Japan coast; Aomori’s Sea of Japan coast; Akita; Kyoto; Tottori; Oki Islands, Izumo and Iwami in Shimane; Yamaguchi’s Sea of Japan coast; Fukuoka’s Sea of Japan coast; Northern Saga; Iki and Tsushima Islands
Comments
0 comment