Japan braces for 16ft tsunami: Terrified residents flee to higher ground amid mass evacuations as first waves crash into west coast after devastating 7.6-magnitude earthquake

A devastating earthquake hit central Japan today with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6, prompting mass evacuations along much of the country’s coastline just as twilight gave way to darkness.

The quakes rang out shortly after 4pm local time (7am UK time), and the first tsunami waves more than a metre high have already begun lashing the north coast of central Japan.

The country’s meteorological agency reported the first big waves hit Wajima port in Ishikawa prefecture at 4:21pm local time, with many more expected in the coming minutes and hours.

Japan is now bracing for waves of up to 5 metres (16.4ft) to hit later today. 

A major tsunami warning was issued for Ishikawa as well as lower-level tsunami alerts or advisories for the rest of the western coast of the island of Honshu, as Japanese public broadcaster NHK TV urged people to flee to high land or to the top of nearby buildings.

‘We realise your home, your belongings are all precious to you, but your lives are important above everything else. Run to the highest ground possible,’ a presenter on broadcaster NHK told viewers.

The tsunami waves could keep returning, according to the network, as warnings continued to be aired nearly an hour after the initial alert.

The Japanese government will hold a news conference later in the day, with reports of any damage not immediately available.

Several major highways were closed, the road operator said, and Shinkansen bullet train services were also suspended between Tokyo and the epicentre in the Noto region in Ishikawa prefecture on the Sea of Japan side of Japan’s main island of Honshu.

Around 33,500 households on the western coast of Honshu were left without power, according to local utilities.

Fears are mounting that Japan’s coastal nuclear power plants could be affected in the wake of the quake. 

But operators have confirmed that no issues have been detected yet. 

‘It has been confirmed that there are no abnormalities at Shika nuclear power plant (in Ishikawa) and other stations as of now,’ government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said.

‘Every minute counts. Please evacuate to a safe area immediately,’ he added. 

Hokuriku Electric Power, Tokyo Electric Power Co, and Kansai Electric Power operate several nuclear power plants along the coastline that could be struck by tsunamis.
Russia’s emergencies ministry said that parts of the western coast Sakhalin island, situated close to Japan on Russia’s Pacific seaboard, were also under threat of tsunami, and that the local population was being evacuated, state news agency TASS reported.

Meanwhile in Seoul, South Korea’s meteorological agency said the sea level in some parts of the Gangwon province on the east coast may rise after the earthquake.

Japan has strict construction regulations intended to ensure buildings can withstand strong earthquakes and routinely holds emergency drills to prepare for a major jolt.

But the country is haunted by the memory of a massive 9.0-magnitude undersea quake off northeastern Japan in March 2011, which triggered a tsunami that left around 18,500 people dead or missing.

The 2011 tsunami also sent three reactors into meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant, causing Japan’s worst post-war disaster and the most serious nuclear accident since Chernobyl.

In March 2022, a 7.4-magnitude quake off the coast of Fukushima shook large areas of eastern Japan, killing three people.

The capital Tokyo was devastated by a huge earthquake a century ago in 1923.