7.7-magnitude quake strikes, tsunami warning issued
Updated ,first published
Tokyo: A 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Japan’s northeastern coast on Monday, prompting authorities to warn residents to stay away from coastal areas where tsunami waves of up to three meters are expected.
Two hours after the tremor, which occurred at 16.53 (17.53 AEST), tsunami waves 80 centimeters high were detected. The tsunami warning was later downgraded to a tsunami warning.
The earthquake was measured as ‘upper 5’ on Japan’s seismic intensity scale; this was strong enough to make it difficult for people to move and to cause unreinforced concrete block walls to collapse. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the epicenter of the tremor was in the Pacific Ocean and was at a depth of 20 kilometers.
There were no reports of any casualties or major damage, government spokesman Minoru Kihara said at a news conference as night fell in the capital Tokyo.
Several port cities, including Otsuchi and Kamaishi, both hit hard by a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011, had previously issued evacuation orders for thousands of residents, according to public broadcaster NHK. Due to the earthquake, high-speed train services were stopped and some highways were closed.
In the footage broadcast on NHK, it was seen that the ships set out from Hachinohe port in Hokkaido in anticipation of the wave: “Tsunami! Evacuation!” A warning appeared on the screen.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the government had established an emergency task force and called on citizens in the affected areas to evacuate to safety.
Following the earthquake, the government warned that the risk of mega-earthquakes was increasing.
Normally, the chance of a magnitude 8 or stronger earthquake occurring along the Japan Trench and the Kuril Trench in the Pacific off northern Japan is about 0.1 percent, but the chance will be around 1 percent higher in the week following Monday’s quake, a government official said at a news conference.
“Please take anti-disaster steps by embracing the idea that one should protect one’s own life,” the official said.
According to the JMA, a three-metre tsunami could damage low-lying areas by submerging buildings and sweeping away anyone exposed to the current.
Japan is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world. An earthquake occurs in the island country at least every five minutes. Located in the “Ring of Fire” of volcanoes and oceanic trenches that partially surround the Pacific Basin, Japan is responsible for about 20 percent of the world’s earthquakes of magnitude 6.0 or greater, such as the disaster that caused a nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima power plant in 2011.
There are no nuclear power plants in the affected areas, and Hokkaido Electric Power Co and Tohoku Electric Power Co said no abnormalities were reported at their idled facilities there.
The International Atomic Energy Agency also said that no abnormalities were observed in Japan’s nuclear facilities.
Reuters
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