Powerful Earthquake Hits Japan, Causing Tsunami and Fire
The 7.6-magnitude quake struck on New Year’s Day and led to a 4-foot wave
TOKYO—A powerful 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck an area along the west coast of Japan, causing a tsunami wave of at least 4 feet as well as home collapses and a large fire.
A government spokesman said authorities were responding to at least six cases in which people were trapped inside a collapsed home. The National Police Agency said two people suffered cardiopulmonary arrest.
Footage from news helicopters showed a fire engulfing at least several blocks in the city of Wajima near the earthquake’s epicenter at the tip of the Noto Peninsula.
The New Year’s Day quake struck at 4:10 p.m. as many people were visiting family for the holiday or making the traditional New Year’s visit to a temple or shrine.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said the main earthquake had a magnitude of 7.6 and was followed by many aftershocks of smaller magnitude. It said the biggest tsunami reached at least 1.2 meters, or about 4 feet, with smaller tsunamis hitting a swath of the Japan Sea coast.
As of early Tuesday, a tsunami warning remained in effect. Officials said there was still a risk of further tsunamis. Most of the damage was centered in Ishikawa, Toyama and Niigata prefectures nearest the epicenter.
Television footage showed violent shaking that caused items to fall off store shelves and people to reach for support to stay standing. Some roads collapsed, and flights and trains to the area were canceled.
Lorraine Nickerson, 59, a missionary from Canada who lives in the Noto Peninsula with her family, said the shaking was so intense that she fled out the back door of her home.
“Let’s say my cupboard is empty of dishes,” she said. “We had everything smashed. All the pictures fell off the wall.” Nickerson said she and her family weren’t injured, and she spent the evening trying to clean up the mess.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he spoke to two mayors in the region who told him that roads were cut off and they needed relief supplies sent by air or sea. Kishida said he ordered military, police and fire units to use all means necessary to get the area quickly and help with rescue and relief efforts.
An earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, killed more than 20,000 people on the Pacific coast side of Japan and led to the meltdown of three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear-power plant.
Since then, Japan has been slow to reopen nuclear-power plants in other parts of the country, including the still-offline Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata prefecture, less than 100 miles from Monday’s epicenter.
The Niigata plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power, also operated the Fukushima Daiichi plant. It said it didn’t experience any problems at the Niigata plant from Monday’s quake.
On Dec. 27, Tokyo Electric Power said regulators removed restrictions that had been imposed after the discovery of security lapses at the Niigata facility. That could open the door for the company to reopen two of the plant’s seven reactors, as it has sought to do for years.
However, it has yet to win approval from local authorities, which is considered a de facto requirement for operating a nuclear power plant in Japan.