A 6.5 magnitude earthquake struck Ishikawa Prefecture on the 5th, NHK said. The Yomiuri Shimbun reported on the same day.
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, an earthquake of magnitude 6.5 occurred in the Ishikawa Noto Peninsula at 2:42 pm on the same day. The epicenter was located in Ishikawa Prefecture, facing the Korean Peninsula across the East Sea, and was very close to the surface at a depth of 12 km.
The Japan Meteorological Agency reported that this earthquake also caused strong shaking with a magnitude of 6 in Suzu City.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) announced that a magnitude 6.2 earthquake hit the epicenter at 37.540 degrees north latitude and 137.305 degrees east longitude at 2:45 p.m., with an epicenter depth of 8.7 km.
The earthquake slightly changed the sea level off the coast of Japan, but did not produce a tsunami.
However, aftershocks of magnitude 3 or 4 followed. In particular, at 9:58 pm on the same day, in Suzu City, Ishikawa Prefecture, there was an aftershock observing a strong shaking with a magnitude of 5.8. The depth of the epicenter was 10 km, and there was no tsunami caused by the aftershock.
In the Noto Peninsula of Ishikawa Prefecture, after earthquakes with strong shaking of magnitude 6 occurred, earthquakes followed one after another.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said that there is a risk of an earthquake accompanied by strong shaking of up to 6 in the next week or so in areas where the shaking was strong, and asked to be careful of future earthquake activity.
As reports of damage from the earthquake came in one after another that day, information was obtained that two buildings collapsed in downtown Suzu, a man fell to his death while working on a ladder, and many people were injured.
According to the Yomiuri Shimbun, as of this night, one man (65) fell off a ladder and died after being taken to the hospital, and 23 others were injured, including being crushed by a collapsed building.
In Suzu City, some buildings collapsed, and there was also a case where a cliff on the mountain behind collapsed and a huge rock hit a house directly. Water was cut off in about 40 households, and a water supply truck drained the water. Shelters were opened in nearby areas, and 47 residents were evacuated. The country and prefectures will bear the cost of setting up shelters.
The Japan Meteorological Agency is urging caution, saying that in Ishikawa Prefecture, where precipitation is high for 24 hours until 6:00 p.m., it is expected to reach 50 mm, and the earthquake loosens the ground and rains, increasing the risk of landslide disasters.
According to the Japan Nuclear Regulatory Agency, no abnormalities have been confirmed at nuclear power plants in various places, including Units 1 and 2 of the Hokuriku Electric Power Shiga Nuclear Power Plant in Ishikawa Prefecture (out of operation). The Hokuriku Shinkansen was suspended for a while.
For this earthquake, the emergency earthquake early warning of the long-period earthquake ground, which began operation in February, was delivered for the first time. Long-period earthquake motion is a slow shaking that greatly shakes high-rise buildings, and in the Noto region of Ishikawa Prefecture, ‘Class 3’, the second largest shaking among the four levels, was observed.
It is the first time in a year and two months since the earthquake with the epicenter off Fukushima in March 2022 that an earthquake of magnitude 6 or higher has occurred in the Japanese archipelago.
In response to the earthquake, the Japanese government is responding by setting up a countermeasures office at the Prime Minister’s Office Crisis Management Center.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno held a press conference at the Prime Minister’s Office and said, “We have received reports that there are no abnormalities at this point” regarding the two nuclear power plants near the earthquake site.
Source: Donga
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