Major 7.5-magnitude quake hits off Japan, triggers tsunami warnings
TOKYO, April 20 (Reuters) – A 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck Japan’s northeastern coast on Monday as authorities urged residents to stay away from coastal areas where tsunami waves of up to 3 meters (9.84 ft) were expected.
The biggest waves were predicted to hit Iwate and Aomori prefectures at the top of Japan’s main island of Honshu and the northern island of Hokkaido, officials said.
Following the earthquake that occurred at 16.52, tsunami waves of up to 80 cm were detected in an hour, while warnings continued for waves up to 3 meters high.
Several port cities such as Otsuchi and Kamaishi, both hard hit by the massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011, have issued evacuation orders for thousands of residents, according to public broadcaster NHK.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the government established an emergency task force and urged citizens in affected areas to evacuate to safety.
“Possible damage and losses are currently being investigated,” Takaichi told reporters at his office in Tokyo.
Major aftershocks could occur in the coming days and weeks, an official from the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said at a separate televised news conference.
In the images broadcast on NHK, the ships set out from Hachinohe port in Hokkaido, expecting a wave, and ‘Tsunami! ‘I’m evacuating!’ A warning appeared on the screen. According to the JMA, a 10-foot tsunami could damage low-lying areas, flood buildings and anyone exposed could be swept away by currents.
Bullet train services in Aomori were stopped due to the tremors, Kyodo news agency reported.
NO ABNORMALITIES WERE REPORTED AT INTERVIEWED NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
The earthquake measured “upper 5” on Japan’s seismic intensity scale; strong enough to make it difficult for people to move and “cause unreinforced concrete block walls to collapse.” JMA said the epicenter of the tremor was in the Pacific Ocean at a depth of 10 km.
Located in the “Ring of Fire” of volcanoes and oceanic trenches that partially surround the Pacific Basin, Japan is one of the world’s most earthquake-prone countries, with a tremor occurring at least every five minutes.
This earthquake is responsible for about 20% 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 currently operating in the affected areas, and Hokkaido Electric Power Co and Tohoku Electric Power Co said no abnormalities were reported at their idled facilities there.
(Reporting by Tokyo Newsroom; Writing by Chang-Ran Kim and John Geddie; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
