Japan activates tsunami warning after 7.6 magnitude earthquake

Japanese authorities today activated a tsunami warning warning of waves of up to five meters on almost the entire west coast after a strong earthquake of 7.6 degrees occurred in Ishikawa Prefecturewhich is located in the center of the island of Honshu, the main island of the country, along the coast of the Sea of ​​Japan.

The first waves, about 1.20 meters high, reached the town of Wajima, about 500 kilometers west of Tokyo, at about 4:21 p.m. local time (7:21 GMT), according to public broadcaster NHK, which activated emergency programs, with anchors shouted to people to stay away from the coast and seek shelter on higher ground.

Other cities in Ishikawa or Niigata prefectures have already reported rising tides between 540 and 80 centimeters.

The earthquake, which was felt as far away as Tokyo, occurred on the Noto Peninsula, Ishikawa Prefecture, at 16:10 (7:10 GMT) at a shallow depth and with an intensity of 7 on the closed Japanese scale of 7 centered in the destructive capacity of the earthquake, and not in intensity.

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) subsequently reported nearly two dozen aftershocks and warned that more earthquakes reaching Japan’s level 7 are very likely to occur over the next week.

The JMA activated a warning for waves up to five meters high in Ishikawa prefecture and waves up to three meters high for Fukui, Toyama, Hyogo, Niigata and Yamagata prefectures, and also implemented a general tsunami warning for the entire west coast of Honshu and Hokkaido and the north of the island Kyushu.

Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) said it is reviewing the status of its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, in Niigata Prefecture, which is the world’s largest by generating capacity but has remained inactive since 2011, when a major earthquake and tsunami hit the country’s northeast. , leaving more than 20,000 dead and leading to the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

At this moment, no significant damage has been recorded either in this or in other nuclear power plants in the country.

The office of Japanese Prime Minister Fumi Kishida has convened a crisis cabinet to manage the situation.

Kishida himself urged citizens to exercise maximum caution in the face of tsunami warnings and asked those in affected areas to evacuate to safe areas.

There are currently no reports of damage from the rising water, but more than 30,000 homes are without power in Ishikawa and another 3,600 in neighboring Niigata due to the earthquake and multiple aftershocks.

A large fire also broke out in the town of Wajima as a result of the earthquake.

Several roads and highways on the west coast also reported significant damage and remained closed, while pictures posted on social media showed completely destroyed houses in Ishikawa.

Train services were also suspended in the north-east of the country and in the center and north of the west coast.