1 of 1 A magnitude 7.6 earthquake leaves Japan dead. — Photo: Jornal Nacional/Reproduction A magnitude 7.6 earthquake claims lives in Japan. — Photo: Jornal Nacional/Reproduction
“My God, I thought my heart would stop,” said a Japanese woman in the car in front of a destroyed house.
Surveillance cameras recorded the tremors. It was 4:10 in the afternoon local time, 4:10 in the morning in Brasília, when the earth began to shake on the holiday of January 1st, when, following tradition, millions of Japanese visited temples to celebrate the New Year.
The epicenter was near Ishikawa Prefecture on the Noto Peninsula. The tremors hit the west coast of central Japan. The strongest earthquake had a magnitude of 7.6.
The roof of a subway station shook. The tremors destroyed houses and started fires. There were disruptions in telephone and internet signals. Trains and planes no longer ran in some areas. More than 30,000 households were still without power at night.
The earthquake caused cracks in the streets. And it even shook buildings in the capital Tokyo, around 500 kilometers away.
A spokesman for the Japan Meteorological Agency announced: “It is the first major tsunami warning since the 2011 Pacific Ocean earthquake.”
The authority even warned of the danger of waves up to five meters high.
He then downgraded the warning of a large tsunami and reduced it to a warning that meant the risk of waves of up to one meter.
One meter high waves hit neighboring South Korea. North Korea and Russia also issued tsunami warnings for some regions.
In Japan, 100,000 residents were forced to leave their homes in coastal areas. Most spent the night in shelters at higher altitudes.
“I ask all residents to continue to be vigilant,” warned Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Authorities warned that caution should be exercised given new earthquakes in the next seven days.
On this first day of the year, the world turned its attention to Japan one of the most earthquakeprone countries on earth.
The nuclear regulator has not registered any problems at power plants in the country.
The two reactors at the plant closest to the epicenter were shut down for regular inspections and suffered no impacts.