AB GhaylaneOn Wednesday, a huge 7.3magnitude earthquake rocked off the coast of Fukushima, in northern Japan, briefly triggering a tsunami warning and knocking out electricity to more than 2 million residences in the Tokyo area.
Though the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center later stated that there was no longer a threat of a massive wave, the Japan Meteorological Agency maintained their low-risk advisory. Waves of 20 centimeters (8in) touched the shore in Ishinomaki, roughly 240 miles (390 kilometers) north of Tokyo, according to NHK television.
Broken walls of a department store building and shards of windows littered a roadway near Fukushima city‘s main train station, according to NHK footage.
A 9.0 earthquake and tsunami struck the region eleven years ago, causing nuclear plant meltdowns.
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, where cooling systems collapsed following the 2011 disaster, said on Wednesday that employees had discovered no anomalies at the site, which is being dismantled.
Hirokazu Matsuno, Japan’s senior cabinet secretary, said there were no anomalies at two other nuclear power reactors in the vicinity.
According to NHK, a fire alarm went off in the turbine building of the Fukushima Daiichi plant‘s No. 5 reactor, and water pumps for the spent fuel cooling pool at two of the four reactors at Fukushima Daini stopped working, however, there was no immediate danger of overheating. Later, the nuclear regulatory agency stated that the issues had been remedied. The quake struck at 11.36 p.m. local time, at a depth of 36 miles beneath the sea, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
The Japanese air force said fighter jets had been despatched from the Hyakuri base in Ibaraki prefecture, close south of Fukushima, to gather information and assess damage.
According to NHK, there were reports of fire, building damage, and falling rocks in Iitate, Fukushima. There were no reports of casualties.
In 14 northeastern prefectures, including the Tokyo region, more than 2.2 million homes were without power, according to Tepco and another utility, Tohoku Electric Power Company.
The earthquake hit eastern Japan, including Tokyo, causing catastrophic structural damage.
Most of East Japan Railway Company’s train services have been halted for safety reasons, according to the company. Later, some local trains resumed service. The tremor caused a Tohoku Shinkansen express train to partially derail between Fukushima and Miyagi, but no one was wounded, according to NHK.
Fumio Kishida, Japan’s prime minister, said the government was examining the extent of the damage and committed to do all possible to aid rescue and relief efforts. “Please take immediate action to save your life,” Kishida wrote on Twitter.
According to Matsuno, a number of emergency calls had been received, and local authorities were scrambling to examine the damage. “We’re doing everything we can in terms of rescue operations and prioritizing people’s lives,” he said. For the next week, he advised inhabitants in the impacted areas to be particularly cautious of major aftershocks.
