Japanese leader warns of more earthquakes and tsunamis as residents told to evacuate
Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has warned citizens to prepare for further earthquakes, after the coastal province of Ishikawa was yesterday hit by a series of tremors, the strongest of which measured 7.6 in magnitude.
A succession of 21 earthquakes registering at least 4.0 in magnitude over 90 minutes led to a tsunami more than one metre high along parts of the west coast of the country’s largest island, Honshu, in the Sea of Japan.
“Residents need to stay on alert for further possible quakes and I urge people in areas where tsunamis are expected to evacuate as soon as possible,” Mr Kishida said.
The strongest quake, measuring 7.6, hit shortly after 4pm, prompting the Japan Meteorological Agency to issue a major tsunami warning, which means there was a chance of waves of more than three metres.
This was the first major tsunami warning since 2011, when a 9.0-magnitude undersea quake off north-eastern Honshu led to a tsunami that killed about 18,500 people and sent three reactors into meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant.
The alert, which was later downgraded to an ordinary tsunami warning, caused some train services to stop, power plants to halt operations and authorities to check on nuclear reactors.
It is unclear how many people were killed or hurt as a result, but two people recovered from debris in Ishikawa province were unresponsive, public broadcaster NHK reported.
Major motorways were closed around the epicentre while Shinkansen bullet train services were suspended between Tokyo and the region, Japan Railways said.
More strong quakes in the area, where seismic activity has been simmering for more than three years, could occur over the coming days, Japan Meteorological Agency official Toshihiro Shimoyama said.
The earthquake struck on the New Year’s Day public holiday, when millions of Japanese traditionally visit temples.
In Kanazawa city, a popular tourist destination in Ishikawa, images showed the remnants of a collapsed torii gate at the entrance to a shrine.
Video on broadcaster ANN showed collapsed houses in Wajima, about 110km north of Kanazawa, after it was hit by a tsunami of at least 1.2 metres.
Units of Japan’s Self-Defence Forces have been dispatched to Ishikawa to help with rescue operations, officials said.