A magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck central and western Japan this Monday, forcing the activation of a tsunami warning along much of the country's west coast, according to national broadcaster NHK. This is the biggest tsunami warning from Japan's weather agency since the 2011 disaster that caused the Fukushima nuclear accident. This Monday's quake initially hit the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, but the national agency Kyodo says it was felt from northeastern Aomori Prefecture to the southwestern Kyushu region. More than 51,000 people in five prefectures were ordered to evacuate due to waves of up to five meters.
The Japanese Nuclear Regulatory Agency assures that no problems have been found in the reactors of the Shika nuclear power plant in Ishikawa, adding that there is no risk of radioactive leakage from the facilities in the areas affected by the earthquake, according to NHK.
The tsunami warning urged people to quickly evacuate coastal areas of Ishikawa, Niigata, Toyama and Yamagata prefectures. According to NHK, waves more than 1.2 meters high reached the port of Wajima (Ishikawa) at around 4:21 p.m. (08:21 Spanish peninsular time). The Hokuriku Electric Power nuclear power plant (in Toyama) has reported that more than 36,000 households are affected by power outages.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called for “remaining vigilant about the possibility of new earthquakes” in a speech broadcast by the NHK network. He has also urged residents of areas “where tsunamis are expected” to evacuate “as quickly as possible.” Authorities are still determining the extent of the damage.
Collapsed house in Wajima Township, Ishikawa Prefecture, after the earthquake this Monday, in an image published by the national agency Kyodo. KYODO (via Portal)
Join EL PAÍS to follow all the news and read without restrictions.
Subscribe to
The Ishikawa prefectural government and local emergency services have reported that many houses have collapsed and around 32,500 homes are affected by power outages. Train services in the region have been suspended, while telecommunications operators Softbank and KDDI have said on their websites that there are disruptions to telephone and internet services in Ishikawa and Niigata. Around 3,000 houses in Toyama Prefecture are also affected by power outages.
Russia also issues a tsunami warning
In Russia, the government has also issued a tsunami warning for the cities of Vladivostok and Kachodka. The Ministry of Emergency Situations has reported that part of the western coast of the Russian island of Sakhalin (north of Japan) is also at risk of a tsunami. The Russian news agency TASS has reported that the local population is being evacuated.
On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9.1 earthquake caused a gigantic tsunami that devastated the north of the Japanese archipelago. The strong quake northeast of Tokyo, the strongest since records began in Japan more than 150 years ago, produced waves up to nine meters high that devastated the country's northeast coast and damaged several nuclear reactors in the region, including the Fukushima Daiichi power plant caused a serious accident from which the area has not yet recovered. This triple disaster claimed the lives of almost 20,000 people.
The decommissioning Daiichi nuclear power plant began discharging its water into the ocean this summer, an initiative that, despite support from the International Atomic Energy Agency, has drawn strong opposition from local residents and some neighboring countries, particularly China.
For its part, the South Korean Interior Ministry has reported that authorities in Gangwon Province, on the east coast of the country, have sent warning messages asking the population to stay away from the coast and go to emergency shelters, given the possibility that the tsunami waves will hit tonight reach the region.
Follow all international information on Facebook and Xor in our weekly newsletter.
Subscribe to continue reading
Read without limits
_