Evacuation orders issued in Japan after powerful earthquake triggers tsunami warning
CNN
By Billy Stockwell, Yumi Asada, CNN
(CNN) — A powerful magnitude-7.6 earthquake struck off Japan’s northeastern coast on Monday, triggering evacuation orders and a tsunami warning for parts of the coastline.
Some parts of the country experienced tsunami waves, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) reported in an update early Tuesday local time. A 2.3-foot (0.7-meter) tsunami height was observed at Kuji port in Iwate. A 16-inch (40cm) tsunami height was recorded in Aomori and Hokkaido, the JMA said earlier.
After several hours, the JMA downgraded the warning to a tsunami advisory.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the earthquake struck at 11:15 p.m. local time (9:15 a.m. ET) around 44 miles (70km) off the coast of the country and at a depth of around 33 miles.
There were several reports from Aomori Prefecture of injuries and fires, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said at a news conference early Tuesday. He said power outages have been reported in Aomori and Iwate and that high-speed train service was suspended between Fukushima and Aomori. Some sections of expressways were also closed, Kihara said.
A CNN team in Japan’s capital Tokyo felt strong tremors during the earthquake, which lasted for longer than 30 seconds.
Earlier, Kihara urged people in affected areas to evacuate to higher ground or move to safe buildings, such as evacuation shelters.
There have been no reports of “abnormalities at this time” at the country’s Higashidōri and Onagawa nuclear power plants, Kihara said. “We have received reports that other nuclear facilities are currently being checked,” he added.
Japan’s new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, who was elected in October, said her government would work closely with local officials to assess the damage and put in place emergency response measures.
The government would be “acting as one under the principle of putting human life first,” she said.
Japan is no stranger to severe earthquakes. It lies on the Ring of Fire, an area of intense seismic and volcanic activity on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. The worst quake in recent Japanese history was the 9.1-magnitude Tohoku earthquake in 2011 that triggered a major tsunami and nuclear disaster.
That quake and tsunami left more than 22,000 people dead or missing and caused reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to melt down, releasing radioactive contamination into the surrounding area.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
CNN’s Brandon Miller, Lauren Kent and Mitchell McCluskey contributed to this report.
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