The year started on a grim note when on 1st January 2024, a powerful earthquake hit central Japan, reportedly destroying buildings, killing and injuring people, making thousands of homes go dark with no power and more.
The earthquake said to hit a magnitude of 7.6 also led to waves of about 3 feet (1 meter) rising along the west coast of Japan and even reaching neighbouring country of South Korea. Following this, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) released tsunami warnings for the regions of Ishikawa, Niigata and Toyama.
What Happened?
On Monday, 21 successive earthquakes struck central Japan within just 90 minutes as per the Japan Meteorological Agency.
Most of the earthquakes registered around 4.0 magnitude while the strongest one measured 7.6 on the Richter scale. Some reports claim that it was an earthquake measuring 7.6 in magnitude with 50 aftershocks occurring within 90 minutes.
As per the New York Times, around 4.10 pm local time the earthquake struck the Noto Peninsula and while the JMA did initially release a major tsunami warning for Ishikawa, it was brought down to a regular warning after a few hours and eventually to just an advisory. Advisories were also released for areas like Honshu, along with the Hokkaido the northernmost of Japan’s main islands.
However, people have still been advised to not return to the coastal regions until the situation is under control.
Why Did The Earthquake Occur?
The reason for this particular earthquake is not yet known, however, Japan is very earthquake-prone since it is located along the ‘Pacific Ring of Fire’, reported to be the most active earthquake tectonic belt in the world.
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According to Live Science the ‘ring’ is “an imaginary horseshoe-shaped zone that follows the rim of the Pacific Ocean, where many of the world’s earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur.”
It is within this ring that different tectonic belts like the Pacific Plate, Eurasian Plate, and Indo-Australian Plate, and all keep colliding and bumping into each other thus resulting in earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions.
How Bad Is The Situation?
Around 33,000 households in Ishikawa, Niigata, and Fukui prefectures have been said to have been affected by the earthquake resulting in loss of power and electricity.
According to local media broadcaster NHK, officials are still figuring out the exact scale of the damage and number of casualties but several people are said to have been injured and according to Japanese broadcaster NTV one person died after a building collapsed in the Ishikawa region post the earthquake.
Telecom operators have claimed that some areas could face connectivity issues and loss of internet services, in some places fire broke out and people attempted to evacuate the coastal regions.
Meanwhile, the Twitter/X account of the PM of Japan has also listed down instructions writing “1. Provide timely and accurate information to the public regarding the tsunami, evacuation, etc., and take thorough measures to prevent damage, such as the evacuation of residents.
2. Assess the state of affairs regarding damage as soon as possible.
Act in close coordination with local governments and, under the principle of prioritizing human life above all else, spare no effort in our emergency disaster responses, including saving lives and rescuing disaster victims, with the Government working as one.”
Image Credits: Google Images
Feature image designed by Saudamini Seth
Sources: BBC, The Indian Express, Reuters
Find the blogger: @chirali_08
This post is tagged under: Japan, Japan earthquake, Japan earthquakes today, Japan earthquakes 2024, Japan earthquakes recent, Japan earthquakes and tsunami, japan tsunami, Japan earthquake news, Japan tsunami warning, japan news
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