A devastating earthquake hit central Japan today with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6, prompting mass evacuations as the country’s western coastline braces for what is expected to be a 16ft-high tsunami.
A total of 21 quakes above 4.0 magnitude rang out shortly after 4pm local time (7am UK time), and videos shared on social media and broadcast on Japanese TV showed how buildings collapsed in Suzu, a city close to the epicentre of the largest quake, with huge cracks appearing in roads.
Other clips showed terrified shoppers thrown to the ground in department stores and flooding at a train station after water pipes burst, as the first tsunami waves began lashing the coastlines.
The country’s meteorological agency reported the first big waves hit Wajima port in Ishikawa prefecture at 4:21pm local time just as darkness fell on the region, 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.
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.
Cracks are seen on the ground in Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan Monday, Jan. 1, 2024, following an earthquake
Waves can be seen sloshing through the middle of the city following the earthquake, an unsettling reminder that a large tsunami could be on its way
A collapsed house following an earthquake is seen in Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture
The contents of a store are seen spilled over the ground following heavy tremors in Japan
A roof is seen collapsed in this image shared on social media following an earthquake
Water leaks from the ceiling inside the Kanazawa station, after an earthquake hit Ishikawa, Japan January 1, 2024
People sit on the floor inside a store as an earthquake hits, in Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan January 1, 2024
A torii gate is damaged after an earthquake at a shrine in Kanazawa, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan Monday, Jan. 1, 2024
People stand near a collapsed torii gate caused by an earthquake at Onohiyoshi Shrine in Kanazawa, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan January 1, 2024, in this photo released by Kyodo
People walk along a road damaged by an earthquake, in Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan January 1, 2024
A house is seen collapsing amid an earthquake in Suzu, Ishikawa prefecture
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.
A tsunami warning is shown on TV in Yokohama today after earthquakes in the Sea of Japan
Items fall from shelves on the ground inside a store as an earthquake hits
An online video purportedly shows a house collapsing in Ishikawa during today’s earthquake
This image taken in Hong Kong on January 1, 2024 shows a warning message on a screen from a live feed on NHK World asking people to evacuate from the area after a series of major earthquakes hit central Japan
A road sign informs drivers to exit the expressway due to earthquakes in Oyabe City of Toyama Prefecture of Japan
Strong waves began lashing the coastlines of Western Japan as night fell
A map from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) shows the location of the earthquake hitting the Noto region of Ishikawa prefecture in Japan today
Japan has strict construction regulations intended to ensure buildings can withstand strong earthquakes and routinely holds emergency drills to prepare for a major jolt.
Buildings are reinforced with concrete walls and special joints that ease stress when the ground shakes.
Meanwhile, skyscrapers are built with shock absorbers and ‘elastic architecture’ that allows them to flex horizontally.
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.
While it is not possible to predict exactly where and when earthquakes will hit, we know the worst events will be along Earth’s plate boundaries – and much of Japan is located across one such boundary.
Honshu, Japan’s main island, lies at the intersection between three tectonic plates – Eurasian, Philippine and North American.
In Japan, participation in natural disaster drills begins in kindergarten and all Japanese cell phones come with an earthquake alert system, potentially giving users a 5 to 10-second window to seek shelter before the quake strikes.