Tsunami warning issued after 7.4 magnitude quake hits Japan
Strong earthquakes measured at up to 7.6 magnitude have struck the central Japanese prefecture of Ishikawa on Monday
Tokyo: Strong earthquakes measured at up to 7.6 magnitude have struck the central Japanese prefecture of Ishikawa on Monday. Further, it is worth mentioning that tsunami warnings have been issued.
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), the major quake hitting Ishikawa, a coastal prefecture on the Island of Honshu, registered an intensity of 7 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale which peaks at 7, with temblors felt in multiple regions of the Asian country, according to the weather agency, Xinhua news agency reported.
The weather agency said the latest major temblor occurred at 4:10 p.m. local time (0710 GMT) at a shallow depth. The temblor’s epicenter was located in Ishikawa’s Noto region, at Wajima east-northeast 30 km at 37.5 degrees north latitude and 137.2 degrees east longitude.
A major tsunami warning has been issued by the JMA for Noto region, urging people to evacuate immediately, following tsunami warnings for Niigata, Toyama, Ishikawa prefectures of the Japan Sea side of the country.
Japanese public broadcaster NHK has warned of torrents of water of up to 5 meters. According to reports, Toyama prefecture on the western coast of Japan also reported tsunami waves of 50 centimeters at 4:23 p.m. local time, Xinhua news agency reported.
Torrents of water could reach as high as 5 meters and authorities urged people to flee to high land or a top of a nearby building as quickly as possible, according to NHK.
East Japan Railway Co. suspended operations of all Tohoku, Joetsu and Hokuriku Shinkansen lines due to the earthquakes, Kyodo News reported.
Hokuriku Electric Power Company said more than 36,000 houses are experiencing power outage.
The Japanese government set up an emergency response office at the prime minister’s office in Tokyo, it added.
Earlier in the day, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) issued tsunami warnings for a broad swath of the country’s western coast, including Ishikawa, Fukui, Niigata, Toyama, Yamagata and other prefectures, after a series of strong earthquakes with major ones measured at up to 7.6 magnitude struck a wide area on the Sea of Japan coast in central Japan.
According to the weather agency, the major temblor occurred at 4:10 p.m. local time (0710 GMT) at a shallow depth, registering a maximum 7 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale on the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture. It also shook buildings in central Tokyo.
(With Inputs From: IANS)
Ms Kalinga