Several people are feared trapped under rubble of collapsed buildings as 7.5 magnitude earthquake jolts Japan on Monday. Amid tsunami warning issued in Ishikawa and Toyama prefectures, after series of strong quakes, people are ‘running’ to reach to a safe place.
Japanese public broadcaster NHK TV warned torrents of water could reach as high as 5 metres (16.5 feet) and urged people to flee to high land or the top of a nearby building as quickly as possible.
Yoshimasa Hayashi, chief cabinet secretary of Japan, said that there are many trapped under the rubble of collapsed houses. Though the authorities are still collecting information on the damage, there were at least six reported cases of people trapped under the rubble of collapsed houses.
According to Japan's Meterological Agency, the earthquake's magnitude of 7.6 is the largest recorded in the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa prefecture since 1885. Also, the tsunami warning issued earlier was the first major alert of its kind since March 2011.
Fresh warnings for earthquakes has been issued across the country. Alerts were issued to prefectures of Ishikawa, Niigata, Nagano and Toyama. However, the highest-level of tsunami warning was reduced but people were warned not to return to their homes in coastal areas.
More than 30 earthquakes- ranging in magnitude from 3.6 to 7.6 - have hit central Japan in the past three hours.
The Suzu City hospital in Ishikawa is reporting a stream of injured patients arriving.
Indian embassy in Japan issues helpline numbers
The Indian embassy in Japan has set up emergency control room and issued helpline numbers for Indian citizens amid tsunami warning.
Embassy has set up an emergency control room for anyone to contact in connection with the Earthquake and Tsunami on January I, 2024. The following Emergency numbers and email IDs may be contacted for any assistance. pic.twitter.com/oMkvbbJKEh
— India in Japanインド大使館 (@IndianEmbTokyo) January 1, 2024
"Embassy has set up an emergency control room for anyone to contact in connection with the Earthquake and Tsunami....The following Emergency numbers and email IDs may be contacted for any assistance," the consular wrote in the notice.
The embassy also urged the citizens to follow the government orders and remain safe. Reportedly, more than 36,000 households lost power in Ishikawa and Toyama prefectures.
Meanwhile, according to Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority, no irregularities have been reported from nuclear power plants along the Sea of Japan. There are five active reactors at Kansai Electric Power's Ohi and Takahama plants in the Fukui Prefecture.
The Hokuriku's Shika plant in Ishikawa, close to the quake's epicentre, had already halted its two reactors before the quake for regular inspection and saw no impact from the quake, said the agency.
After Japan, Russia has issued tsunami warnings in far eastern regions. Parts of Sakhalin island's western coast and the mainland Primorsk and Khabarovsk regions, which are situated close to Japan on Russia's Pacific seaboard, are under threat of tsunami, reported TASS.
Russian media had issued warnings for those sailing in local waters to "urgently return to the shore".
North Korea also issued tsunami warnings for its east coast after a massive quake hit north central Japan, saying waves of up to 2.08 meters (6.8 ft) can reach its shore.
South Korea's east coast braces for tsunami after massive Japan quake. First tsunami reached South Korea's east coast at 0921 GMT at a height of 45 cm (1.5 ft) in the wake of a massive earthquake that hit Japan on Monday, South Korea's meteorological agency said.
According to South Korea's Gangwon province warned residents to take precautions and evacuate to higher ground.
