Japan Earthquake-Tsunami Updates: A powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.6 struck near the Noto Peninsula of Ishikawa Prefecture on the west coast of central Japan at 4:10 pm local time on Monday (January 1), causing the collapse of many houses, the collapse of roads and a tsunami in coastal areas. A warning was issued.
However, now ‘Major Tsunami Warning’ has been downgraded to ‘Tsunami Warning’. Residents are still asked to evacuate their homes as the tsunami is still being recorded.
Thousands of people living near the Sea of Japan have been asked to move to higher ground. People are in trouble and are very scared due to the situation created due to the earthquake. Dozens of small earthquakes have struck central Japan since about 4 p.m. local time, and more are expected to follow.
The epicenter of the earthquake was 30 kilometers east-northeast of Wajima in the Noto region of Ishikawa at 37.5 degrees north latitude and 137.2 degrees east longitude. There is a danger of major earthquakes in this area. According to the weather agency, its depth was very less.
According to a Japan Times report, police said two people were feared dead in Nanao on the Noto Peninsula. At least six other people are also said to be trapped in collapsed buildings in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, a coastal area on Honshu island. Following the earthquake, massive fires broke out in the city, while house collapses were reported in many other municipalities.
Waves reached more than one meter high
The earthquake caused tsunami waves more than a meter high that reached the coast in Ishikawa Prefecture, but were smaller than the 5 meters (16 feet) that authorities had warned about.
A major tsunami warning was issued for the Noto region for the first time in Japan since the 2011 earthquake, which has been downgraded. In March 2011, a 15-meter tsunami struck the north-eastern coast of Japan, killing more than 18,000 people.
Authorities have also issued a tsunami warning for neighboring Niigata and Toyama prefectures. It has been warned that waves there may rise up to 3 meters.
More than 51,000 people were asked to evacuate their homes in five provinces.
According to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, a total of more than 51,000 people in five prefectures were ordered to evacuate their homes, according to the Japan Times. The Defense Ministry said about 1,000 residents and others were evacuated to the Air Self-Defense Force base (SDF) in Wajima and that the SDF was responding to the situation by distributing blankets, water and food.
According to the government, Ishikawa Governor Hiroshi Hase has asked the SDF to send members on a disaster relief mission. East Japan Railway Company has temporarily suspended all operations on the Tohoku, Joetsu and Hokuriku Shinkansen lines due to the earthquake. At the same time, bullet trains between Ishikawa province and Tokyo have been suspended. The country’s Nuclear Regulation Authority has said that no irregularities have been reported from the nuclear power plants located along the Sea of Japan.
Fear of increasing death toll
According to the BBC report, several hundred meters of the main expressway between the cities of Toyama and Kanazawa has been destroyed by landslides. The Noto Peninsula is now largely cut off from the rest of the province. Hundreds of houses have collapsed, trapping the people living in them. The deaths reported so far are less but their number is likely to increase. Thousands of people are now spending the night outside in sub-zero temperatures and are afraid to return to their homes as aftershocks continue.
What is the opinion of experts regarding tsunami?
Experts believe that the major threat of tsunami has now diminished because the risk reduces with time after the initial earthquake. However, Professor David Tappin of the British Geological Survey told Radio 4’s World at One program that this particular area has a unique aspect of tsunamis due to it being surrounded by ocean, meaning it is more likely to occur off the coast of Japan and off the coast of Asia. Can bounce back and forth between.
60 earthquakes occurred on Monday
According to BBC, earthquake tremors have been continuously occurring in central Japan for the last few hours. There have been about 60 incidents since 4 pm local time, when a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck the Noto region. The intensity of the subsequent earthquakes ranged from 3 to 6.1. The most recent aftershock was recorded at 23:02 local time, with a magnitude of 4.6. Japan’s meteorological agency has warned of possible serious earthquakes next week, especially in the next two to three days.
A massive fire broke out in Ishikawa.
The Wajima City Fire Department in Ishikawa says it has received at least 30 reports of buildings collapsing, according to NHK. A government spokesman said there were six cases of people trapped under the debris of collapsed buildings, while a massive fire broke out in the Ishikawa area after the earthquake.
More than 30,000 houses lost electricity
Government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said a fire broke out in Wajima city in Ishikawa prefecture and more than 30,000 homes lost power. News agency Reuters quoted Japan’s NTV as saying that one person died after a building collapsed in Ishikawa Prefecture. Many roads have been closed.
The instructions of PM Fumio Kishida have been issued by the Prime Minister’s Office of Japan. It said that the public has been asked to provide timely and accurate information regarding tsunami, evacuation etc. and directed to take all possible measures to prevent losses such as evacuation of residents.
The PM has asked the authority to assess the situation regarding the loss as soon as possible. He said that no stone should be left unturned in our emergency disaster responses, including saving lives and rescuing disaster victims… Let us tell you that tsunami warning has also been issued in South Korea, North Korea and parts of the Far East of Russia. Has been.
Also read- Watch: Rising waves of tsunami after earthquake in Japan, see how people saved their lives amid fear
