A tsunami warning has been issued for Japan after a massive earthquake has hit the region. The magnitude of the tremor has been recorded at 7.1 leading to cities being rocked flights to an airport suspended
A tsunami warning has been issued for Japan after a massive 7.1 magnitude earthquake has rocked the region.
Authorities in Japan have now told that there is a risk of a rising sea level of one metre on the Pacific coast of the western islands of Kyushu and Shikoku with people told to stay away from the seashore and river banks.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa told a press conference that a crisis management team was set up by the government following the earthquake and he confirmed that there had been injuries without going into details.
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"We will continue to grasp the extent of damage and closely coordinate with local governments. We will make an utmost effort to take disaster emergency measures, placing top priority on rescue operations mainly by police, fire departments, self-defence forces and the Japan Coast Guard," he said. "We are currently confirming the relationship with the Nankai Trough Earthquake. We can confirm human injuries and property damage."
The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) also issued a warning for a “megaquake” from a nearby submarine trough that is a hotbed of geological tension. It said the chance of a major earthquake there that could trigger powerful tsunamis is “relatively higher than usual for the next week.”
The 7.1 magnitude earthquake occurred today at 4:42 pm local time near Miyazaki, Japan, reported by the United States Geological Survey that estimates that it could have been felt by around 11.2 million people in the country. A follow-up tremor of 4.8 magnitude was also felt about an hour later.
The JMA has also recorded the magnitude as 7.1 with the epicentre at Hyuganada Sea and issued the tsunami warning for the coastal areas of Miyazaki, Kochi, Oita, Kagoshima and Ehime prefectures. The shallowness of the tremor has meant that it is a more powerful earthquake.
Operators of nuclear plants on Kyushu and Shikoku said they were checking to see if there was any damage to them. Japan’s NHK public television said there were reports of broken windows at the Miyazaki airport near the epicentre. A tsunami with heights of around 50 centimeters and 20 cm was observed in Miyazaki and southwestern Kochi, respectively, said Japan's weather agency.
Towns and cities near the epicentre have felt strong ground shaking including Kirishima, 68 kilometres away and Kanoya 72 kilometres from the epicentre. Footage shows shaking and people alarmed at Miyazaki Airport where there has been an evacuation. A post on X states: "It was shaking a lot at Miyazaki Airport. Everyone is evacuating to the second and third floors."
A check is being made of the runway at the airport for any damage, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and in the meantime all flights in and out of the airport have been suspended. There have been no reports of injuries at the airport.
In Osaki, in the Kagoshima Prefecture, there was a mass evacuation of students who had gathered from around the country at a sports centre. Young people from schools and universities have been at the sports facility to practise track and field, and all had to go outside as a precaution.
A member of staff told NHK: "I was outside at the time, and at first I heard a rumbling sound like wind vibrating, and I thought it might have been an explosion at Sakurajima. After that, the shaking got more and more intense, and I realised it was an earthquake. There was a few seconds of strong shaking that made it difficult to stand, and then weaker shaking continued."
Shoppers at a department store can be seen crouching and holding onto rails in one clip as a strong tremor is felt and clothes on hangers are swinging from side to side. A person in Shibushi, 53 kilometres from the epicentre reported: "I was at home. Alarming vibrations (...) some bottles fell from the shelves. No visible damage." While many other people have reported light shaking between 100 and 200 kilometres away.
"According to preliminary data, the quake was located at a very shallow depth of 8.8 kilometres. Shallow earthquakes are felt more strongly than deeper ones as they are closer to the surface" states volcanicdiscovery.com. "The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
"Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should have been felt by everybody in the area of the epicenter. In those areas, dangerous ground shaking occurred with the potential to inflict moderate to heavy damage to buildings and other infrastructure." A post shared on X also shows the aftermath of a rockfall from a cliff with the comment: "I was standing on the bank and the wind started to blow and when I returned to the car the cliff suddenly collapsed with a cracking sound."
A strong earthquake that struck southwestern Japan left nine people with minor injuries and caused damage such as burst water pipes and small landslides in April but there was no danger of a tsunami on that occasion The magnitude 6.6 temblor was centered just off the western coast of the southwestern main island of Shikoku, in an area called the Bungo Channel, a strait separating Shikoku and the southern main island of Kyushu on April 18.
There was also an earthquake on June 3 that struck Japan’s north-central region of Ishikawa, still recovering from the destruction left by a powerful quake on January 1 that left 240 people dead, but there was no major damage. A magnitude 5.9 temblor on the northern top of the Noto Peninsula was followed minutes later by a 4.8 and then several smaller quakes within the next two hours, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
As part of the Pacific “ring of fire,” Japan is one of the world ’s most earthquake-prone areas. A magnitude 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami in March 2011 devastated large areas along Japan’s northeastern coast, killing nearly 20,000 people and triggering the f*ckushima Daiichi nuclear meltdowns. On Jan. 1, a magnitude 7.6 quake struck the north-central region of Noto and left 241 people dead.
