Late Monday evening, a significant earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 rattled northern Japan, causing injuries to at least 23 individuals and prompting tsunami warnings along the Pacific coastline. Officials have cautioned residents about the likelihood of aftershocks and the potential for a larger seismic event.
The earthquake struck at approximately 11:15 p.m., centered in the Pacific Ocean roughly 80 kilometers (50 miles) off the coast of Aomori, the northernmost prefecture on Japan’s main island of Honshu. As authorities continue to evaluate the extent of damage, communities remain on high alert.
In the town of Hachinohe, Aomori, convenience store owner Nobuo Yamada recounted his experience to NHK, the public broadcaster, stating, “I’ve never experienced such a big shaking.” Despite the tremors, he noted that power lines in his area remained intact.
The Japan Meteorological Agency recorded a tsunami reaching heights of 70 centimeters (2 feet, 4 inches) at Kuji port in Iwate prefecture, which is located just south of Aomori. Other coastal areas in the region experienced surges of up to 50 centimeters.
The Fire and Disaster Management Agency reported that 23 people sustained injuries, including one person seriously hurt. Many injuries resulted from falling objects, as indicated by NHK. Among the injured were several individuals in a hotel in Hachinohe, and a man in Tohoku suffered minor injuries when his vehicle plunged into a hole.
Initially, the meteorological agency estimated the earthquake’s magnitude at 7.6, later revising it to 7.5. They issued a warning for possible tsunami waves up to 3 meters (10 feet) in height, which was subsequently downgraded to an advisory.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara urged residents to go to higher ground or seek shelter until advisories were lifted. He said about 800 homes were without electricity, and that the Shinkansen bullet trains and some local lines were suspended in parts of the region.
Nuclear power plants in the region were conducting safety checks, Kihara said. The Nuclear Regulation Authority said about 450 liters (118 gallons) of water spilled from a spent fuel cooling area at the Rokkasho fuel reprocessing plant in Aomori, but that its water level remained within the normal range and there was no safety concern.
About 480 residents were taking shelter at the Hachinohe Air Base, and 18 defense helicopters were mobilized for a damage assessment, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said.
About 200 passengers were stranded for the night at New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido, NHK reported.
The meteorological agency issued a caution about possible aftershocks in the coming days. It said there is a slight increase in risk of a magnitude 8-level quake and possible tsunami occurring along Japan’s northeastern coast from Chiba, just east of Tokyo, to Hokkaido. The agency urged residents in 182 municipalities in the area to monitor their emergency preparedness in the coming week.
Satoshi Kato, a vice principal of a public high school in Hachinohe, told NHK that he was at home when the quake struck, and that glasses and bowls fell and smashed into shards on the floor.
Kato said he drove to the school because it was designated an evacuation center, and on the way he encountered traffic jams and car accidents as panicked people tried to flee. Nobody had yet come to the school to take shelter, he said.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said in brief comments to reporters that the government set up an emergency task force to urgently assess the extent of damage. “We are putting people’s lives first and doing everything we can,” she said.
Later, she urged residents in the region to pay attention to the latest information from local municipalities. “Please be prepared so you can immediately evacuate as soon as you feel a tremor.”
The quake struck about 80 kilometers (50 miles) northeast of Hachinohe, and about 50 kilometers (30 miles) below the sea surface, the meteorological agency said.
It was just north of the Japanese coast that suffered the magnitude 9.0 quake and tsunami in 2011 that killed nearly 20,000 people and destroyed the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
“You need to prepare, assuming that a disaster like that could happen again,” the meteorological agency’s earthquake and volcano division official Satoshi Harada said.
At 6:20 a.m. on Tuesday morning, authorities lifted all tsunami advisories for the Pacific coastline in northern Japan, NHK said.
The U.S. Geological Survey reported another earthquake, with a magnitude 5.1, early on Tuesday, about 122 kilometers (76 miles) south of Honcho, at a depth of 35 kilometers. No other details were immediately available.
.
