Powerful 7.5-Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Japan’s Northeast

TOKYO, Dec 8 (Reuters) – A powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake shook northeastern Japan late on Monday, prompting orders to evacuate about 90,000 residents and tsunami warnings were downgraded to warning level hours later.

The Japan Meteorological Agency initially said a tsunami as high as 3 meters (10 feet) could hit Japan’s northeastern coast after the earthquake struck off the coast at 23:15 (1415 GMT).

Tsunami warnings were issued for Hokkaido, Aomori and Iwate prefectures, and tsunamis 20 to 70 cm (7 to 27 inches) high were observed in various ports, the JMA said.

Earlier on Tuesday, the JMA downgraded the warnings to advisory; This means it now sees lower predicted wave heights and less risk of flooding.

The earthquake’s epicenter was 80 km (50 miles) off the coast of Aomori prefecture, at a depth of 54 km, the agency added.

On Japan’s 1-7 seismic intensity scale, the tremor was recorded as “upper 6” in Hacinohe city, Aomori prefecture; An earthquake strong enough to make it impossible to stand or move without crawling. During such tremors, most heavy furniture can collapse, and in many buildings, wall tiles and window panes can be damaged.

As of 17:00 GMT, there was little information from public broadcaster NHK regarding major damage or casualties. A hotel employee in Hacinohe said several people were injured and taken to hospital, but all were conscious.

“I heard that as of now, seven injuries have been reported,” Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told reporters early Tuesday morning.

East Japan Railway 9020.T suspended some services in the area, which was also hit by the massive 9.0 magnitude earthquake in March 2011.

“There is a possibility of stronger and stronger earthquakes occurring in the next few days,” a JMA official said at a briefing.

Following the tremor, the JMA issued a warning for a wide area from the northernmost island of Hokkaido to Chiba prefecture east of Tokyo, urging residents to remain vigilant in case there was another strong earthquake within a week.

No irregularities were reported at nuclear power plants in the region operated by Tohoku Electric Power 9506.T and Hokkaido Electric Power 9509.T, utilities said. Tohoku Electric initially said thousands of households were without power, but later reduced that number to hundreds.

The Yen JPY= weakened against major currencies following the tremor news and showed some recovery. The dollar hit a session high and was trading around 155.81 yen around 1533 GMT, while the euro also hit a session high.

Japan is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world, with a tremor occurring 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 approximately 20% of the world’s earthquakes of magnitude 6.0 or greater.

The northeastern region experienced one of the country’s deadliest earthquakes on March 11, 2011; A magnitude 9.0 tremor occurred under the ocean off the coast of the northern city of Sendai. It was the most powerful tsunami ever recorded in Japan and triggered a series of massive tsunamis that devastated large swaths of the Pacific coastline and killed nearly 20,000 people.

The 2011 tsunami also damaged the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, sparking a series of explosions and meltdowns in the world’s worst nuclear disaster for 25 years.

Learning from the disaster that occurred two days ago, when a magnitude 7 earthquake occurred, the government now issues a one-week “mega earthquake” warning when a significant earthquake occurs in the region. Similarly, a mega earthquake warning was also issued. It was published in August last year For the Nankai Trench region in south-central Japan.

(Reporting by Kantaro Komiya, Kiyoshi Takenaka and Mariko Katsumura; Writing by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Hugh Lawson)