6 killed as strong quakes jolt Japan, trigger tsunami scare

New Delhi, January 1

At least six persons died and water containing radioactive material spilled over at a nuclear power plant in western Japan after a series of earthquakes, with major ones of up to 7.6 magnitude, hit a wide area on the Sea of Japan near the country’s coast on New Year’s Day.

Amid tsunami fears, huge waves crashed into some seaside towns, sweeping away cars, inundating houses and damaging boats. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) issued a major tsunami warning and evacuation orders for six of the country’s 47 prefectures (districts) with a 10-foot-high wave having swamped parts of Ishikawa.

Several regions in Russia’s Far East also remained on tsunami alert and fishermen from Vladivostok and Nakhodka were asked to immediately return to shore. In Japan, several train services, including the high-speed Shinkansen, were suspended and there were multiple cases of damage, fires and injuries amidst New Year celebrations.

According to the JMA, the major quake occurred at a shallow depth, registering a maximum of 7 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale in Ishikawa prefecture where power went out in over 30,000 houses. The JMA has officially named it the ‘2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake’.

There were six cases of people being buried alive after houses collapsed in the worst-hit Ishikawa, which also saw a large-scale fire break out following the earthquake, said Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi at an emergency press conference. The fire broke out in a transformer at a nuclear power station, but it was extinguished and there was no further impact. No damage has been detected at other nuclear power plants though about 10 litres of radioactive material spilled over at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata prefecture. According to local media, two women were injured during evacuation in Fukui prefecture.

Japanese PM Fumio Kishida called for an early assessment of the damage.

10-ft-high waves

• 10-foot-high waves swamped parts of Ishikawa prefecture
• Six persons died after being buried alive in Ishikawa
• Several of the multiple quakes were of 7.6 magnitude

Relief op at Embassy

With 27,000 Indians in Japan, Indian Embassy in Tokyo has set up a control room and issued emergency numbers & email IDs for people to contact