Deaths are increasing after major earthquakes hit Japan’s west coast. The meteorological authority withdrew the tsunami warning issued the day before for the entire west coast of the East Asian Pacific state in the morning (local time). The vibrations caused significant damage.
Numerous houses collapsed or fell victim to fire, roads tore open and power went out in tens of thousands of households. At least thirty people have died in the hard-hit Ishikawa prefecture, the Japanese daily “Yomiuri Shimbun” reported on Tuesday. About 100,000 people were asked to seek safety during the New Year celebrations.
In the hard-hit town of Wajima in Ishikawa, more than a hundred houses and businesses were burned down in one neighborhood, local media reported. Low flames were still burning Tuesday morning and firefighters were still working. Thick smoke hung over the area. Other houses had collapsed or severely damaged. About 1,000 people were housed at an air base in Wajima and provided with blankets, water and food, the government announced.
Desperate search for survivors
According to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Japan’s emergency services are under enormous pressure. “Search and rescue of people affected by the earthquake is a battle against time,” Kishida said at a televised disaster meeting. “We must rescue them as soon as possible, especially those trapped under collapsed buildings.”
The earth continues to shake
Meanwhile, the series of earthquakes continued. A particularly strong earthquake had reached a magnitude of 7.6 the day before. The epicenter was in the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture. The weather bureau then issued a strong warning of a possible five-meter tsunami for Ishikawa, which was later lifted. Lower tsunami warnings remained in effect for all other coastal areas in the west. The earthquake was felt from Hokkaido in northern Japan to the southwestern main island of Kyushu. Several tidal waves of about one meter high reached the coast.
The tremors caused landslides and trees fell on roads. Several boats lay keel-high in the harbor basin. There were reports of burst water pipes. The Tokyo government set up a crisis team and the armed forces were called in for disaster relief in Ishikawa. The meteorological agency warned this week of further strong earthquakes, especially in the first two or three days after the particularly strong quake on New Year’s Day.
The 2011 earthquake led to a catastrophe at the Fukushima nuclear power plant
In March 2011, a magnitude 9 earthquake caused a massive tsunami that destroyed large areas in the northeast of the country and killed about 20,000 people. A disaster occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The island kingdom of Japan in the Far East is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world.
Source: Krone
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