Earthquake in Japan/ Alarm signals also in North Korea and Russia

2024-01-01 14:49:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Japan issued tsunami warnings and ordered evacuations after a series of earthquakes on Monday sparked fires and trapped people under rubble on the west coast of its main island.

The Japan Meteorological Agency reported more than a dozen earthquakes off the coast of Ishikawa Island and surrounding prefectures shortly after 4:00 p.m. local time, one with a magnitude of 7.6.

The agency issued a major tsunami warning for Ishikawa and lower-level tsunami warnings or advisories for the rest of Honshu island's west coast, as well as areas around the main island of Hokkaido.

Japanese public broadcaster NHK warned that waves of water could reach up to 5 meters and urged residents to evacuate as quickly as possible to higher ground or to the tops of nearby buildings.

NHK television said tsunami waves could continue to return and warnings were still being broadcast hours after the initial alert. Several aftershocks also rocked the region.

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Government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said it was essential for residents in coastal areas to evacuate the approaching tsunami.

"Every minute counts. Please evacuate immediately to a safe area,” he said.

At least six houses were damaged by the earthquakes and people are trapped inside them. A fire broke out in Ishikawa Prefecture's Wajima city and more than 30,000 households were left without electricity, spokesman Hayashi said.

He said that there have been no confirmed reports of deaths or injuries, stressing that the situation is still unclear. The Japanese military is taking part in rescue efforts, he said.

Footage broadcast by Japanese media showed people running through the streets and smoke billowing from a fire in a residential area. Photos showed a crowd of people, including a woman with a baby on her back, standing next to large cracks in the pavement.

Express trains in the area were stopped. Parts of the highway were closed and water pipes burst, according to NHK television. Some mobile phone services in the region were down.

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The Meteorological Agency said at a press conference that more large earthquakes could hit the area over the next week, especially in the next two or three days.

Tsunami warnings have also been issued for parts of North Korea and Russia. Russian officials issued a tsunami alert on Sakhalin Island, warning that areas across the island's west coast could be affected by the waves.

In South Korea, the meteorological agency urged residents in some eastern coastal cities to watch for possible changes in sea levels. Tsunami waves that hit later can be larger than the initial ones.

The Japanese government has set up a special emergency center to collect information on earthquakes and tsunamis and quickly inform residents to ensure safety, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters, repeating the warning for immediate evacuation from affected areas. .

Japan is a country extremely affected by earthquakes. In March 2011, a major earthquake and tsunami caused severe damage to a nuclear power plant. Government spokesman Hayashi told reporters that nuclear plants in the affected area did not report any damage on Monday./ VOA