A major 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck central Japan on Monday, the American Institute of Geophysics (USGS) said, prompting Japanese authorities to issue a tsunami alert and order the population of the affected area to take shelter on higher ground.
“All residents should immediately evacuate to higher ground,” national broadcaster NHK said after the earthquake hit the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture at around 4:10 p.m. (0710 GMT).
The first waves began to break on the coasts, the country’s meteorological agency JMA said. Waves 1.2 meters high hit the port of Wajima, on the Noto Peninsula at the northern tip of Ishikawa Prefecture (center) at 4:21 p.m. (07:21 GMT), according to the JMA, which warned that waves reaching up to five meters high were possible.
Homes deprived of electricity
About 33,500 homes are without power around the epicenter of several powerful earthquakes that hit central Japan on Monday, local electricity providers reported. The departments of Toyama, Ishikawa and Niigata located on the island of Honshu, which overlook the Sea of Japan, are affected by these power cuts.
An alert for cities in the Russian Far East
Cities in the Russian Far East, including Vladivostok, issued an “alert” on Monday about a possible risk of a tsunami, without carrying out evacuations at this stage.
“Coastal parts of the western coast of Sakhalin may be affected by tsunami waves,” the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry said on Telegram. Vladivostok authorities have recommended fishermen to return to port.
Highways closed to traffic
Several highways were closed to traffic in the area of central Japan hit Monday by a series of powerful earthquakes, according to an expressway operator in the region. The circulation of high-speed trains (shinkansen) between Tokyo and the department of Ishikawa, where the tremors took place, was also interrupted, announced Japan Railways.