Quakes trigger tsunami waves in Japan, residents urged to flee
Tsunami waves over a meter high hit central Japan yesterday after a series of powerful earthquakes that damaged homes, closed highways and prompted authorities to urge people to run to higher ground.
A major 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck the Noto region in Ishikawa Prefecture around 4:10pm, the US Geological Survey said.
Japan’s weather agency reported a succession of 21 quakes of 4.0 magnitude or stronger hitting the nation’s central region in just over 90 minutes.
Tsunami waves as high as 1.2 meters hit Wajima port in Ishikawa at 4:21pm, about 10 minutes after the strongest jolt, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
“All residents must evacuate immediately to higher ground,” national broadcaster NHK said after the quakes.
Hazardous tsunami waves were possible within 300 kilometers of the quake’s epicenter along the coast, on the Sea of Japan side of Japan’s main island of Honshu, the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.
But a much higher tsunami of five meters was expected to arrive in Noto in the same region, the JMA said.
The Japanese government said it was still assessing what damage had been caused and whether there had been any casualties.
Government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said that there were reports that six people were in the rubble of collapsed buildings.
Around 33,500 households around the epicenter, in Toyama, Ishikawa and Niigata prefectures, were without power, local utilities said.
Television reports showed a building on fire in Wajima and local journalists said houses shook in central Tokyo.
A video clip posted on social media platform X showed lines of wooden houses toppled by the quakes, with walls and roofs caved in.
“This is the Matsunami District of Noto. We are in a horrible situation. Please come and help us. My town is in a horrible situation,” said a person heard in the video.
Sakhalin Island and Vladivostok in Russia’s far east were on “alert” due to a possible tsunami risk after the quakes in Japan, officials said.
The JMA said the Noto region experienced a rapid succession of quakes, with another 6.2 tremor hitting soon after the initial swarm, the USGS said.
The largest of the quakes prompted broadcasters to switch to special programming and make urgent calls for affected residents to leave for higher ground.
“We realize your home, your belongings are all precious to you, but your lives are important above everything else. Run to the highest ground possible,” a presenter on broadcaster NHK told viewers.
Several major highways were closed around the epicenter, Japan’s road operator said, and Shinkansen bullet train services were also suspended between Tokyo and the epicenter in Noto.
High speed rail services to Ishikawa have been suspended while telecom operators Softbank and KDDI reported phone and Internet service disruptions in Ishikawa and Niigata, according to their websites.
Japanese airline ANA turned back planes headed to airports in Toyama and Ishikawa, while Japan Airlines cancelled most of its services to Niigata and Ishikawa regions and authorities said one of Ishikawa’s airports was closed.
Hayashi said there were no abnormalities reported at the Shika nuclear power plant in Ishikawa or at other plants.
Japan has strict construction regulations intended to ensure buildings can withstand strong earthquakes and routinely holds emergency drills to prepare for a major jolt.
But the country is haunted by the memory of a massive 9.0-magnitude undersea quake off northeastern Japan in March 2011, which triggered a tsunami that left around 18,500 people dead or missing.
The 2011 tsunami also sent three reactors into meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant, causing Japan's worst postwar disaster and the most serious nuclear accident since Chernobyl.
In March 2022, a 7.4-magnitude quake off the coast of Fukushima shook large areas of eastern Japan, killing three.
(Agencies)