A strong 7.6 magnitude earthquake has shaken the coast of Japan and there is a tsunami warning in the Pacific

A long series of earthquakesup to a magnitude of 7.6, shook the center of the Japancausing Tsunami wave warning which could reach five metres, the Japanese authorities reported, ensuring that no anomalies have been recorded at nuclear power plants.

The earthquakes occurred on the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture at around 4.10pm local time (4.10am in Argentina), the US Institute for Geological Studies (USGS) said.

The Japanese authorities urged the population to do so shelter from the risk of giant waves.

“All residents should move to higher ground immediately,” national television channel NHK urged.

“We understand that your homes and possessions are very dear to you, but Their lives are more important than anything else.. Run to the highest areas possible,” urged the presenter.

Soon after, the first tsunami waves have reached the coaststhe Japan Meteorological Agency announced.

Waves 1.2 meters high hit the port of Wajima, on the Noto peninsula, at 4.21pm (4.21am in Argentina), it said.

The transport authority has closed highways in the area close to the epicenter and the Japanese Railways has announced that high-speed trains between Tokyo and Ishikawa prefecture have been interrupted, while the government has specified that there are currently no consequences on the country’s nuclear weapons facilities. .

“It has been confirmed that there are currently no anomalies either at the Shika nuclear power plant (located in Ishikawa prefecture, ed.) or at other sites,” government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said.

In Ishikawa, but also in the neighboring prefectures of Toyama and Niigata, around 33,500 homes remained without electricity, according to local suppliers.

Risk of dangerous waves

The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center warned of the risk of dangerous waves “from this earthquake within a 300 km radius of the epicenter along the coast of Japan.”

I am They could reach five meters in heightthe Japanese Meteorological Agency specified.

The earthquakes that occurred in Japan also led some cities in the Russian Far East, including Vladivostok, to alert for possible tsunami risk, even if no evacuation has been carried out at the moment.

“The western coast of Sakhalin could be hit by waves,” the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry warned on Telegram. Vladivostok authorities advised fishermen to return to port.

The strongest of this long series of earthquakes was initially recorded with a magnitude of 7.4, only to be revised upwards 7.6 by the Japanese agency.

Other earthquakes occurred shortly before or immediately after in Noto, a total of 21 earthquakes of magnitude 4 or higher in just over an hour and a half: the first of magnitude 5.7 at 4.06 pm local time, another of magnitude 6.1 at 4.18pm and then three more with a magnitude between 4.5 and 4.8 until 4.32pm.

Located in the so-called Pacific “Ring of Fire”, Japan is one of the countries in the world where earthquakes are most frequent.

For this reason, extremely strict construction standards apply in the archipelago, so much so that buildings are usually able to withstand strong earthquakes, and residents are accustomed to this type of situation, for which they prepare regularly.

But the traumatic memory of the terrible 9.0 magnitude earthquake persists in the country, followed by the gigantic tsunami that in March 2011 caused a catastrophe that left around 20,000 dead and missing.

That catastrophe included the Fukushima nuclear accident, the world’s worst recorded since Chernobyl in 1986. The tsunami caused three reactors at Japan’s nuclear power plant to melt down.

Then, in March 2022, a magnitude 7.4 earthquake off the coast of Fukushima shook large areas of eastern Japan and caused three deaths.

The capital, Tokyo, was devastated by a strong earthquake a century ago, in 1923.