Following a sequence of earthquakes that rocked the western portion of the main island, Japanese authorities issued evacuation orders and tsunami alerts.
The strongest of the over a dozen recorded by the Japan Meteorological Agency, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6 was reported at 4 p.m.
While less severe warnings were also issued for the rest of the country’s western coast, major tsunami warnings were only issued for Ishikawa prefecture. Coastal residents were advised to stay away from their homes due to the risk of deadly waves, even though the highest-level alert was later lifted.
“Every moment matters. Government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi asked everyone to leave immediately and find a safe hiding place.
No fatalities from the natural disasters have been confirmed yet, but meteorologists warn that more powerful earthquakes may occur in the coming days. The New Year’s Day natural disasters raised concerns about tsunamis across the sea in both North Korea and Russia.
State television station NHK warned residents of rising water up to 16.5 feet, and a 10-foot tsunami was predicted to make landfall in Niigata prefecture on the coast of the Sea of Japan. The earthquakes disrupted train lines, cut off power to multiple areas, and started fires in residential buildings needing emergency response.
As the situation changed, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida informed the media that an emergency center had been set up to gather and distribute information on the risk of earthquakes and tsunamis.
There are still active evacuation orders and tsunami warnings in effect.
