Japan assesses damage from 7.5 magnitude quake that injured 33
TOKYO– Japan was assessing damage Tuesday and warning people of possible aftershocks after a late-night 7.5 magnitude earthquake caused injuries, minor damage and a tsunami in Pacific coastal communities.
At least 33 people were injured, one seriously, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said. Most of them were hit by falling objects, public broadcaster NHK reported.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told reporters that an emergency task force had been formed to urgently assess the damage. “We put people’s lives first and do everything we can,” she said.
At a parliamentary session on Tuesday, Takaichi promised that the government would continue all efforts and reminded citizens that they must protect their own lives.
The magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck around 11:15 p.m. in the Pacific Ocean, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) off the coast of Aomori, the northernmost prefecture on Japan’s main island of Honshu. The U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake at magnitude 7.6 and said it occurred 44 kilometers (27 miles) below the surface.
A tsunami of up to 70 centimeters was measured at Kuji Port in Iwate Prefecture, just south of Aomori, and waves of up to 50 centimeters hit other communities in the area, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. NHK reported that the waves damaged some oyster rafts.
The agency lifted all tsunami advisories at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said about 800 homes were without power and Shinkansen bullet trains, and some local lines were suspended in parts of the region in the early hours of Tuesday. East Japan Railway announced plans to resume high-speed trains in the region later Tuesday.
Power was largely restored Tuesday morning, according to Tohoku Electric Power Co.
About 480 residents sheltered at Hachinohe Air Base and 18 defense helicopters were mobilized to assess the damage, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said.
About 200 passengers were stranded overnight at New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido, NHK reported. Part of a domestic terminal was unusable Tuesday after parts of its ceiling cracked and fell to the ground, according to the airport operator.
The Nuclear Regulatory Authority said about 450 liters (118 gallons) of water spilled from a spent fuel cooling area at the Rokkasho Fuel Reprocessing Plant in Aomori, but its water level remained within the normal range and there were no safety concerns. No anomalies were noted at other nuclear power plants and spent fuel storage facilities, the NRA said.
JMA warned of possible aftershocks in the coming days. It said there was a slight increase in the risk of a magnitude 8 earthquake and possible tsunami occurring along Japan’s northeastern coast, from Chiba, just east of Tokyo, to Hokkaido. The agency urged residents in 182 municipalities across the region to monitor their emergency preparedness in the coming week, reminding them that caution is not a far-reaching prediction.
Monday’s quake occurred just north of the coastal region, where the 9.0-magnitude quake and tsunami in 2011 killed nearly 20,000 people and destroyed the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
“You have to prepare, assuming a disaster like that could happen again,” said Satoshi Harada, head of the JMA.
Smaller aftershocks continued Tuesday. The U.S. Geological Survey reported a magnitude 6.6 earthquake, then a magnitude 5.1 in the hours following the initial tremor.
