Powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake strikes Japan’s north-east

TOKYO -  A powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake shook northeastern Japan late on Dec 8, prompting orders for about 90,000 residents to evacuate and tsunami warnings that hours later were downgraded to advisories.

The Japan Meteorological Agency initially said a tsunami as high as 3m could hit Japan’s north-eastern coast after the earthquake struck off the coast at 11.15pm local time (10.15pm Singapore time).

Tsunami warnings were issued for the prefectures of Hokkaido, Aomori and Iwate, and tsunamis from 20cm to 70cm high were observed at several ports, JMA said.

In the early hours of Dec 9 the JMA downgraded the warnings to advisories, meaning it now sees lower estimated wave heights and less risk of inundation.

The epicentre of the quake was 80km off the coast of Aomori prefecture, at a depth of 54km, the agency added.

On Japan’s 1-7 scale of seismic intensity, the tremor registered as an “upper 6“ in Aomori prefecture – a quake strong enough to make it impossible to keep standing or move without crawling. In such tremors, most heavy furniture can collapse and wall tiles and windowpanes are damaged in many buildings.

As of 5pm GMT (1am Singapore time), there was little information of major damage or casualties from public broadcaster NHK. It cited a hotel employee in Hachinohe as saying a number of people were injured and taken to hospital, but that all were conscious.

“As of now, I am hearing that there have been seven injuries reported,” Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told reporters early in the morning on Dec 9.

She told reporters at the Prime Minister’s Office that “under the policy of putting human life first, the government will work together to do everything in its power to implement emergency disaster response measures, such as saving and rescuing those affected”, reported Yomiuri Shimbun.

Citing a government spokesperson, Kyodo News reported that the authorities are checking for injuries and damage following the earthquake, with two fires confirmed in Aomori city so far.

Nearly 30,000 people were ordered to evacuate their residences in various towns and cities across Iwate, Miyagi and Aomori prefectures, according to updates on X from the NERV disaster prevention app, which delivers real-time alerts for disasters and extreme weather in Japan.

The quake sent some people running out of their homes, while some uploaded videos of moving furniture on social media.

Public broadcaster NHK cited a hotel employee in the city of Hachinohe in Aomori as saying there had been some injuries as a result of the quake.

Live footage showed shattered glass fragments scattered across roads.

Hachinohe residents fled their homes to seek shelter in the city hall, NHK said.

The quake was also felt in the northern hub of Sapporo, where alarms rang on smartphones to alert residents.

A reporter for NHK in Hokkaido described a horizontal shaking of around 30 seconds that made him unable to keep standing as the earthquake struck.

Top government spokesman Minoru Kihara urged residents to stay in a safe place until the warning had been lifted.

“Even after an initial wave, a second or third wave of an even greater height can arrive,” he told reporters.

East Japan Railway suspended some services in the area, which was also hit by the massive 9.0-magnitude quake in March 2011. As of 4pm GMT, there was little information of major damage from public broadcaster NHK.

“There is a possibility that further powerful and stronger earthquakes could occur over the next several days,” a JMA official said at a briefing.

No irregularities were reported at nuclear power plants in the region run by Tohoku Electric Power and Hokkaido Electric Power, the utilities said. Tohoku Electric initially said thousands of households had lost power but later lowered that number to the hundreds.

The yen weakened against major currencies after news of the tremor, before regaining some ground. The dollar touched a session high and was trading at around 155.81 yen around 3.33pm GMT, while the euro also hit a session high.

Japan is one of the world’s most earthquake-prone countries, with a tremor occurring at least every five minutes. Located in the “Ring of Fire” of volcanoes and oceanic trenches partly encircling the Pacific Basin, Japan accounts for about 20 per cent of the world’s earthquakes of magnitude 6.0 or greater.

The north-eastern region suffered one of the country’s deadliest earthquakes on March 11, 2011, when a 9.0-magnitude tremor struck under the ocean off the coast of the northern city of Sendai.

It was the most powerful ever recorded in Japan and set off a series of massive tsunami that devastated a wide swathe of the Pacific coastline and killed nearly 20,000 people.

The 2011 tsunami also damaged the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, leading to a series of explosions and meltdowns in the world’s worst nuclear disaster for 25 years. AFP, REUTERS

This is a developing story.