Huge Japan Earthquake Triggers Tsunami Alert; 2 Killed, Millions Lose Power
Huge Japan Earthquake Triggers Tsunami Alert; 2 Killed, Millions Lose Power
Tokyo: Two people were killed and dozens were injured in a strong overnight earthquake that rocked most of the East Japan and pushed the tsunami warning, said the authorities on Thursday.
Residents and officials in the northeast of the country were still trying to assess damage from early on Thursday, after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake was hit shortly before midnight.
The tsunami warning for waves up to one meter in the northeastern part of Japan was appointed early on Thursday, after the authorities recorded a water level up to 30cm higher in several regions.
Some small brushes continue to hit the area all night and morning on Thursday.
The initial reports of damage are relatively small, in the country with a building code that is difficult to intended to protect against the destruction of frequent earthquakes, and officials say there are no abnormalities in nuclear plants.
“We do our best to assess the extent of damage,” said Government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters overnight.
“A big aftershocks often occur a few days after the first earthquake, so please stay away from buildings that collapse … and other high-risk places,” he added.
Two people were killed in an earthquake, one in the Fukushima region and the second in neighboring Miyagi, according to the fire and disaster summons, with more than 90 people injured in several regions.
The earthquake struck at a depth of 60 kilometers (37 miles) from Fukushima Beach and was preceded a few minutes earlier by the strong rocking 61-magnitude in the same area, said the Japanese Meteorology Agency.
Vibrating the night came just a few days after Japan marked the 11-year anniversary of the big earthquake that triggered a deadly tsunami and fukushima nuclear disaster.
The overnight earthquake produced strong shocks in northeast beach, where items were thrown from shelves and bookshelves dropped at home.
Jolt also shook the capital and spread parts of Tokyo and other areas into darkness.
‘Extremely violent shaking’
The Japanese nuclear authority said there were no disorders detected at the Fukushima factory which experienced a crisis in 2011 when the tsunami hit, while the pump for a cooling pool on several temporary reactors was stopped but returned soon after.
Some damage was reported, including the collapse of the stone wall at the location of Aoba Castle in Sendai City, and Shinkansen’s bullet train slipped north of the city of Fukushima.
There were no injuries at dance, but 75 passengers and three staff on the ship were trapped for four hours before they could escape from the train.
An official in the Emergency Department of the Regional Government Ishinomaki told AFP overnight he had been awakened by “trembling very hard”.
“I heard the land rumbling. Instead of feeling scared, I immediately remembered the Eastern Earthquake,” he said, referring to the 2011 disaster.
Japan sits in the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, an intense seismic arc activity that stretches through Southeast Asia and crosses the Pacific basin.
