1 of 3 | A view of damage at Onohiyoshi Shrine following a strong earthquake in Kanazawa, central Japan, on Monday. The quake hit a wide area on the Sea of Japan coast, recording a maximum intensity of 7 on the Japanese seismic scale in the Noto Peninsula. Photo by Jiji Press/EPA-EFE
Jan. 1 (UPI) — A powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake rocked western Japan on Monday, likely killing two people, as tsunami warnings issued earlier in the day were downgraded to advisories.
The earthquake struck about 26 miles northeast of Anamizu in Ishikawa prefecture, along the Noto Peninsula.
Authorities initially warned that tsunami waves could be as high as 10 feet along the Sea of Japan coast but the Japan Meteorological Agency later downgraded all of the tsunami warnings to advisories.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters emergency personnel are working to assess damage from the earthquake so far.
“In response to the M7 earthquake at Noto region in Ishikawa prefecture, we have immediately set up the Prime Minister’s Office of Response, Disaster Counter Measure HQ,” he wrote on X.
“Putting human lives as a priority, we are making every effort to assess damages — putting forth all efforts in disaster response. For those in affected areas, please pay close attention to the latest information and place personal safety as your priority.”
The quake shook buildings in central Tokyo, while local police on the peninsula reported two people were found showing no vital signs. The central government also confirmed six separate incidences of residents trapped alive in under collapsed houses in the area.
The earliest waves measured about four feet along the Noto Peninsula and around Ishikawa and Niigata. Some have been identified as far north of the Hokkaido Prefecture.
It marked the first time Japan has issued a major tsunami warning since 2011, when a 9.0-magnitude quake struck Tohoku, causing catastrophic damage from deadly tsunami waves.
Officials suspended bullet train service while Japan Airlines and Nippon Airways canceled all fights in the western region. Western Japan hospitals reported power outages but there were no confirmed numbers of possible injuries from the earthquake so far.
Strong aftershocks, ranging from 4.0 to 5.0 magnitude came in a rapid-fire succession of 21 incidents in central Japan, according to the JMA. The country’s nuclear authority said there was “no risk of radioactivity leaking from nuclear power plants” in the affected areas.
Japan sits in the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, where many tectonic plates meet, causing a constant threat of earthquakes that has led it to develop one of the world’s most sophisticated tsunami warning systems.
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