Japan on Monday issued an advisory for northern coastal areas for an increased risk of a possible mega-quake induced by a significant quake earlier within the day.
The Cabinet Office and the Japan Meteorological Agency said there’s one per cent probability for a mega-quake occurring on the northern Japanese coast in the following week or so following the powerful quake earlier Monday near the Chishima trough.
Officials said the advisory will not be a quake prediction but urged residents to boost their preparedness, resembling emergency food and their grab bag just in case, while continuing their every day lives.
The advisory for the region is the second in recent months. One was issued following one other major quake in December. No major subsequent quake occurred.
A strong earthquake struck off the northern Japanese coast earlier Monday, and the Japan Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami alert within the region, sending residents to rush over to safer grounds. Thus far, no major injuries or damages have been reported.
The quake registering a preliminary magnitude of seven.5 occurred off the coast of Sanriku in northern Japan at around 4:53 p.m. (0753 GMT), at a depth of about 10 kilometers (6 miles), the agency said.
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A tsunami of about 80 centimeters (2.6 feet) was detected on the Kuji port within the Iwate prefecture inside one hour of the quake, and a smaller tsunami of 40 centimeters (1.3 feet) was recorded at one other port within the prefecture, the agency said.
The tsunami alert and advisory were still in place in Japan, with warnings of a wave of as much as 3 meters (10 feet), however the U.S.-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the tsunami threat from the quake “has now passed.”
The Japanese agency urged residents within the region to instantly avoid the coast or along rivers and take shelter on higher ground. It also cautioned people in the world against possible aftershocks for about per week.
Footage on NHK television showed many individuals driving as much as parks and other facilities on higher ground. Within the town of Tomakomai in Hokkaido, a resident got here to a hilltop park after picking up his child at a cram school and said he planned to remain until the alert is lifted.
Iwate and three other northern prefectures issued non-binding evacuation advisories to greater than 128,000 residents, in keeping with the disaster management agency.
Powerful earthquake strikes Japanese coast
The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said officials are assessing the situation but to this point no damage or injuries have been reported, including at power stations and other facilities.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority said nuclear power plants and related facilities within the region were all intact and no abnormalities were detected.
One other 7.5 magnitude quake in December left dozens injured.
It’s 15 years since a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, ravaged parts of northern Japan, caused greater than 22,000 deaths and compelled nearly half one million people to flee their homes, most of them resulting from tsunami damage.
Some 160,000 people fled their homes in Fukushima due to the radiation spewed from the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. About 26,000 of them haven’t returned because they resettled elsewhere, their hometowns remain off-limits or they’ve lingering concerns about radiation.
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