On Monday, January 1, 2024, a severe earthquake struck central Japan. A tsunami warning was issued in the morning.
This Monday, January 1, a tsunami warning was issued in Japan following an earthquake of intensity 5.7. An intensity of 7.6 was then measured for one second in the center of the country by the Japan Meteorological Center. In total, 21 earthquakes with an intensity greater than 4 were recorded in the country, while the first waves reached the coasts in the morning.
The epicenter of the earthquake was on the Noto Peninsula. It happened this Monday, January 1st, at around 4:10 p.m. local time or 8:10 a.m. French time.
“All residents must be evacuated to higher ground immediately,” authorities demanded on national broadcaster NHK.
“According to the Japanese government, no “anomalies” have been detected at the Shika nuclear power plant (located in Ishikawa department, editor’s note) or other locations,” the spokesman said. – Government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi Around 33,500 In the morning the houses were without electricity.
Big waves
A major tsunami warning was issued first for Ishikawa Prefecture, then also for Niigata, Toyama, Yamagata, Fukui and Hyogo prefectures along the Sea of Japan coast.
“Dangerous tsunami waves from this earthquake are possible within 300 km of the epicenter along the coast of Japan,” said the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC). (UNITED STATES). The Japan Meteorological Agency warned that waves could be up to five meters high.
Highways were closed near the quake's epicenter and bullet train service between Tokyo and Ishikawa Prefecture, where the tremors occurred, was also suspended, Japan Railways said.
Warnings of a possible tsunami were also issued in certain Russian and North Korean cities.
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake shook the Noto peninsula in May 2023. Rail traffic was briefly interrupted, but no tsunami warning was issued.