Japanese authorities say an offshore “megaquake” in the Hokkaido–Sanriku region could unleash a devastating 98ft tsunami
A car drops into a collapsed road damaged due the massive earthquake in Tohoku Town, Aomori Prefecture on Tuesday.
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A powerful 6.5-magnitude earthquake has struck off the coast of Hokkaido, Japan, just days after a separate quake sparked 10ft tsunami fears.
The latest tremor hit at around 11:15pm on Monday, with a shallow depth of 21 miles, intensifying the shaking felt near the epicentre.
It struck roughly 75 miles from Mutsu in Aomori, in northern Japan, injuring at least 34 people.
The quake prompted retrospective tsunami alerts as waves of up to 70cm were reported along parts of the Pacific coast.
The tremor comes amid heightened warnings from Japanese authorities, who say an offshore “megaquake” in the Hokkaido–Sanriku region could unleash a devastating 98ft tsunami
It could destroy 220,000 homes, cause as many as 199,000 deaths, and lead to £150 billion in damage.
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Workers remove debris at the commercial facility ‘Hachinohe Shopping Center Lapia’ after the magnitude-7.5 earthquake.
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Officials have urged residents in coastal communities to have evacuation plans ready, warning that a catastrophic event could strike along the Japan Trench and Chishima Trench.
The current alert zone stretches almost 800 miles, from Chiba in the northeast up to Hokkaido — the first time this level of advisory has been issued since the category was created in 2022.
An employee uses adhesive tape to reinforce bottles and glasses to prevent them from falling at a pub where dishes and other items were scattered due to an earthquake in Hachinohe City, Aomori Prefecture.
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Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi warned the nation to stay vigilant, saying: “Due to this earthquake, the likelihood of a large earthquake occurring from Hokkaido to the Sanriku offshore region is now assessed to be higher than normal. Accordingly, the ‘Off the Coast of Hokkaido and Sanriku Subsequent Earthquake Advisory’ has been issued.”
She added that residents in at-risk areas should remain alert for at least a week: “Regardless of whether your area was affected by this earthquake, residents in regions where disaster-preparedness measures are advised should… pay close attention to information from the Japan Meteorological Agency and local authorities.”
Collapsed bookshelves at a high school library is seen in Hachinohe City in Aomori Prefecture on Tuesday.
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Among those shaken by the late-night earthquake was Daiki Shimohata, 33, from Hashikami, who said: “The tremor was something that we’ve never experienced. It lasted maybe for about 20 seconds. We were holding our children… The shaking reminded me of the disaster (in 2011).”
Officials say the probability of a magnitude-8 or larger event remains around one per cent, but stress that the new advisory is designed to jolt the public back into preparedness after years of fading vigilance since the 2011 triple disaster, which killed nearly 20,000 people and triggered the Fukushima nuclear meltdown.
In the wake of this week’s tremors, power plants across northern Japan have launched precautionary safety reviews.
AloJapan.com