Japan's authorities warn of five-meter tsunami after quake
Japan's government sets up a crisis team: Several quakes shake the country, the authorities warn of a meter-high tsunami. The first waves are already hitting land. Russia also fears tsunamis. And there could be more quakes - with devastating consequences.
Japan has warned of new earth tremors in the prefectures of Ishikawa, Niigata, Nagano and Toyama. Special vigilance is required over the next two to three days, it says. There is also an increased risk of fires and landslides in the affected areas. Since New Year's morning, one earthquake with a magnitude of seven on the Japanese scale and three earthquakes with a magnitude of five have been recorded, according to the country's meteorological agency.
The quakes in the center of the country triggered a tsunami warning. "All residents must move to higher ground immediately," the public broadcaster NHK said after the earthquake, which struck at around 4.10 p.m. local time (8.10 a.m. CET) in the Noto region of Ishikawa Prefecture. The first tsunami waves have already hit land, according to the Japanese Meteorological Agency.
The other Japanese broadcasters also interrupted their programs to warn people of the tsunami. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) in the USA believes that dangerous tsunami tidal waves are possible within a radius of 300 kilometers from the epicenter of the quake. The national meteorological authority warned of a three-meter-high tsunami.
In the particularly affected prefecture of Ishikawa, a tsunami of up to five meters could even hit the coast, it said. Power was cut in 32,500 households. Buildings in the Tokyo metropolitan area began to sway. There have been no reports of injuries so far. According to the government, there were no irregularities at nuclear power plants in the region. The government set up a crisis team.
Tsunami warnings also in Russia
According to the state news agency TASS, Russia issued tsunami warnings for the cities of Vladivostok and Nakhodka in the east of the country. Tsunamis were also feared on the west coast of the Russian island of Sakhalin, where residents were brought to safety according to the report.
Ishikawa Prefecture had already been shaken by a magnitude 6.3 earthquake at the beginning of May. One person was killed and 49 others suffered injuries.
Frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions
Japan is located on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, where tectonic plates collide. Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur frequently in this area. For this reason, strict building regulations apply in Japan and earthquake drills are held regularly.
On March 11, 2011, the east coast of Japan was hit by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and a tsunami. The natural disaster claimed the lives of 18,000 people. The tsunami also hit the Fukushima nuclear power plant, causing huge explosions and a meltdown in three reactors. It was the world's worst nuclear accident since the Chernobyl disaster in 1986.
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Source: www.ntv.de
