At least 30 people were injured after a magnitude 7.5 earthquake off Japan’s northern coast, where several tsunami waves of up to 70 centimeters were recorded, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said.
The tremor was recorded Monday at 11:15 p.m. (11:15 a.m. in Brasilia) off Misawa, on the northern coast of the archipelago, at a depth of 53 km, and raised the possibility of further strong tremors in the coming days, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).
The agency initially reported a magnitude 7.6 earthquake, but revised it hours later to 7.5.
Takaichi said 30 people were injured by the earthquake and asked the population to take protective measures in case of further aftershocks.
“Listen to information from JMA and local authorities throughout the week, check that furniture is secure… and be ready to leave if you feel a tremor,” the prime minister said.
Among the injured is a seriously injured person on the northern island of Hokkaido, said the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, which recommended the evacuation of 28,000 people.
This Tuesday morning (9), residents of the island discovered that several highways were damaged, while snow began to cover the ground.
The JMA initially issued a tsunami warning, but lifted it a few hours later. Several waves, reaching 70 centimeters, then reached the coast. Footage from public broadcaster NHK showed broken glass strewn across the streets.
Residents of Hachinohe fled their homes to take refuge at the town hall, according to NHK.
The earthquake was also felt in the urban center of Sapporo, where alarms sounded on cell phones to alert residents.
An NHK reporter in Hokkaido described a horizontal tremor lasting about 30 seconds that left him unable to stand.
The weather agency had warned that a tsunami of up to three meters was expected on Japan’s Pacific coast.
Government spokesman Minoru Kihara urged residents to stay in a safe place until the alert is lifted.
Kihara said he had not received “anomaly reports” at the two nuclear power plants in northern Japan, and added that investigations were underway at other nuclear facilities.
In 2011, a magnitude 9 earthquake triggered a tsunami that left 18,500 people dead or missing and caused a devastating meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
Shortly after Monday’s quake, Tohoku Electric Power said in a post on
Japan is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a zone of intense seismic activity.
The archipelago records around 1,500 tremors per year. The vast majority are benign, although the damage caused varies depending on their location and depth below the earth’s surface.
Earthquakes are extremely difficult to predict, but in January a government committee slightly increased its estimate of the probability of a significant temblor in the Nankai Trench, opposite the Japanese archipelago, over the next 30 years, to between 75% and 82%.
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