A 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck western Japan on Monday afternoon, triggering tsunami alerts as far away as eastern Russia and prompting a warning for residents to evacuate affected coastal areas of Japan as soon as possible.
The earthquake struck at 4:10 p.m. local time at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles), around 42 kilometers (26 miles) northeast of Anamizu in Ishikawa prefecture, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
The Japan Meteorological Agency immediately issued a tsunami warning along coastal regions of western Japan, and the first waves were reported hitting the coast just over 10 minutes later.
Some of the first reports came from the city of Wajima in Ishikawa prefecture, which saw tsunami waves of around 1.2 meters (3.9 feet) around 4:21 p.m., according to Japanese public broadcaster NHK. No immediate damage was reported.
Suzu city officials in Ishikawa told CNN that buildings have been damaged and there were reports of injuries. Police in the city said some people were trapped in damaged houses, according to NHK. No deaths have been reported so far.
A major tsunami warning was in place in the city of Noto in Ishikawa, with waves of around 5 meters expected, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
It was the first major tsunami warning to be issued since 2011, according to a spokesman from Ishikawa prefecture's disaster management agency.
Under Japan's tsunami warning system, waves expected less than 1 meter fall under "tsunami advisory," while those expected above 3 meters fall under "tsunami warning" and waves expected above 5 meters fall under "major tsunami warning."
In a televised address earlier, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi urged people living in areas under tsunami warnings to evacuate to higher ground.
Footage from NHK showed cameras shaking vigorously as waves slammed into the coastline when the quake hit Ishikawa prefecture.
Houses were also rocked by the earthquake, with images showing collapsed roofs and shaken foundations.
Some services of Japan's Shinkansen bullet trains were suspended.
Social media videos showed the aftermath of the quake, with store aisles strewn with goods. One clip filmed from inside a train showed signposts on the platform rocking intensely with the tremor.
More than 32,500 homes in Ishikawa prefecture were left without power following the quake, according to the Hokuriku Electric Power Company.
Japan's Kansai Electric Power Company said in a statement on X that no abnormality had been reported at nuclear plants in the area.
The powerful quake was followed by a series of strong aftershocks, according to the USGS.
A 6.2 magnitude aftershock at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles) struck at 4:18 p.m. local time around 4 kilometers (2.4 miles) southwest of Anamizu, according to the USGS.
Some 58 kilometers (about 36 miles) away, tremors of 5.2 magnitude were recorded, and another 5.6 magnitude aftershock was reported closer to the initial quake, according to the USGS.
The country's weather agency warned that powerful aftershocks could continue over the next three days to a week, and cautioned against potential building collapses and landslides.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said authorities were working to assess potential damage in affected areas.
"We have immediately set up the Prime Minister's Office of Response - Disaster Counter Measure HQ. Putting human lives as priority, we are making every effort to assess damages - putting forth all efforts in disaster response," the prime minister wrote on X, formerly Twitter, Monday.
Tsunami waves reported
Waves of less than a meter were reported in a number of other areas along Japan's western coast, including 80 centimeter waves in Toyama city, 40 centimeter waves in Kashiwazaki and Kanazawa port, and 20 centimeter waves in Tobishima island and Sado island.
The South Korean Meteorological Administration said it was watching for possible sea level changes in the east coast areas of Gangneung, Yang Yang and Goseong of Gangwon Province and Pohang City.
A tsunami threat was also declared in the eastern Russian cities of Vladivostok, Nakhodka, and the island of Sakhalin - as the areas face the Sea of Japan - Russian state media TASS reported. No evacuations have been reported so far.
Rie Wakabayashi was at the gym when a powerful earthquake struck her hometown in western Japan on Monday. She clung to the workout equipment to stand, but even the machines were shaking, she said.
After a tsunami warning was issued, Wakabayashi and her parents took shelter at a shopping mall in Komatsu, Ishikawa โ the prefecture where the 7.6-magnitude earthquake's epicenter was recorded. On her mind was the triple disaster in March 2011 when a devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown triggered one of the biggest nuclear disasters in history.
"I think everyone remembered March 2011 and the tsunamis, and that's why there were so many of us [at the mall], probably thousands on each floor," said Wakabayashi, 33, who paused every few minutes speaking on the phone Tuesday as aftershocks struck.
At least 48 people died, and scores more were injured or missing after the earthquake hit Monday, according to officials. Emergency crews rushed to rescue survivors from the rubble of collapsed buildings and burned homes Tuesday and to send supplies to damaged areas and survivors.
"So far, a large number of casualties, collapsed buildings, fires and other very large-scale damages have been confirmed," Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in a news conference Tuesday. "When it comes to saving lives and rescuing victims, we're in a battle against time."
The earthquake prompted the most severe category of tsunami warnings since 2011, when the catastrophic disaster killed at least 18,000 people after waves as high as 130 feet crashed into coastal towns, sweeping away cars and homes, and destroying multistory buildings.
Although all the tsunami warnings were later lifted, the Japan Meteorological Agency warned that more earthquakes with seismic intensities of around 7 could hit seriously affected areas over the coming week, especially the next two to three days. Officials are also concerned about landslides hitting Ishikawa prefecture because rain was forecast there Tuesday night.
Japan quake toll rises to 73 as weather hampers rescuers
Japanese rescuers struggled with heavy rain, blocked roads and aftershocks on Wednesday following a powerful earthquake that killed at least 73 people and left tens of thousands without power or running water.
Throughout the Ishikawa prefecture on the main island of Honshu sirens blared as emergency vehicles tried to navigate roads blocked by rocks and fallen trees.
The Noto Peninsula was worst hit by the 7.5-magnitude quake on January 1, with port towns such as Wajima and Suzu resembling war zones with streets of mud, flattened houses and sunken boats.
"I can never go back there. It's unlivable now," 75-year-old Yoko Demura said from a shelter in the city of Nanao where she went after her home was reduced to rubble.
"It makes me sad and I will miss it," she told AFP.
There were "almost no houses standing" in one town in the Suzu area, said municipal mayor Masuhiro Izumiya.
"About 90 percent of the houses (in that town) are completely or almost completely destroyed... the situation is really catastrophic," he said, according to broadcaster TBS.
The regional government confirmed 73 people are dead and nearly 400 injured, but the toll is expected to rise.
More than 33,400 people were in shelters, and at least 200 buildings had collapsed.
Around 30,000 households were still without power in Ishikawa prefecture, the local utility said, and over 110,000 households left without running water.
Aftershocks threatened to bury more homes and block roads crucial for relief shipments, as the death toll from the earthquakes that rattled Japan's western coastline this past week rose to 126 on Saturday.
Among the dead was a 5-year-old boy who had been recovering from injuries after boiling water spilled on him during Monday's 7.6 magnitude earthquake. His condition suddenly worsened and he died Friday, according to Ishikawa prefecture, the hardest-hit region.
Officials warned that roads, already cracked from the dozens of earthquakes that continue to shake the area, could collapse completely. That risk was growing with rain and snow expected overnight and Sunday.
The death toll on Saturday rose to 126. Wajima city has recorded the highest number of deaths with 69, followed by Suzu with 38. More than 500 people were injured, at least 27 of them seriously.
The temblors left roofs sitting haplessly on roads and everything beneath them crushed flat. Roads were warped like rubber. A fire turned a neighborhood in Wajima to ashes.
More than 200 people were still unaccounted for, although the number has fluctuated. Eleven people were reported trapped under two homes that collapsed in Anamizu.
The death toll from the powerful earthquake that flattened parts of central Japan on January 1 passed 200 on Tuesday, with just over 100 still unaccounted for, authorities said.
The 7.5 magnitude quake destroyed and toppled buildings, caused fires and knocked out infrastructure on the Noto Peninsula on Japan's main island Honshu just as families were celebrating New Year's Day.
Eight days later thousands of rescuers were battling blocked roads and poor weather to clear the wreckage as well as reach almost 3,500 people still stuck in isolated communities.
Ishikawa regional authorities released figures on Tuesday showing that 202 people were confirmed dead, up from 180 earlier in the day, with 102 unaccounted for, down from 120.
On Monday, authorities had more than tripled the number of missing to 323 after central databases were updated, with most of the rise related to badly hit Wajima.
But since then "many families let us know that they were able to confirm safety of the persons (on the list)", Ishikawa official Hayato Yachi told AFP.
With heavy snow in places complicating relief efforts, as of Monday almost 30,000 people were living in around 400 government shelters, some of which were packed and struggling to provide adequate food, water and heating.
Almost 60,000 households were without running water and 15,600 had no electricity supply.
Road conditions have been worsened by days of rain that have contributed to an estimated 1,000 landslides.
Was up late and online when the notifications came on via my YouTube feed. Expected to wake up and hear it reported as a major news item...nothing.
New Zealand's MSM sources appear to have thus far ignored the story.
Now what arouses my suspicions is that out of the blue, NZ's Earthquake Commission started hammering TV and radio ads about 2 weeks back with the "be prepared" message.
The last time they did such a campaign was 2010-2011.
That was shortly we had our big shakes here in Christchurch. Closely followed by the big one in Fukushima, Japan.
Martin Harris Can't say if they had a great astrologist on council but great astrologists read this stuff in the stars.
Saw this one coming 'somewhere' on the Ring of Fire but I'm not an astrologist - precise prediction is written for everything. (My post too I am confident). Lemme now go check.
LindaMay my side sits on ionosphere heaters and the technology known to exist and was used in the atmosphere over Japan just prior to Fukishima's big event.
Weather and atmosphere wars or manipulation are no longer conspiracy theory or a reading in star charts.
But I will say my VooDoo doll of Japan did fall off the shelf just prior to the event.
So I guess we just go with, a big EQ hit Japan again... more to come. I do buy the suns effect on the earth and the magnetic changes occurring right now.
Surprised by the number of casualties and damage for a 7.6 quake in the best prepared country for EQs on the planet. Seems it must have been bigger than what the authorities claim.
expat in chile The last I saw on the earthquake website, there were a couple of smaller areas that registered at 8. It was also very shallow (only 6 miles deep) and that increases felt severity. Were deaths confined to particular areas of ground liquifaction or particular buildings? There doesn't seem to be a lot of specific info yet that I've seen.
Comment: Update January 2
The Washington Post reports: Update January 3
Agence France-Presse reports: Update January 6
CBS News reports: Update January 9
AFP reports: