On Tuesday, scenes of devastation appeared along the western coast of Japan as rescuers rushed to help individuals who were buried beneath the debris of a 7.5-magnitude earthquake that had killed dozens of people and caused numerous aftershocks.
On Monday afternoon, an earthquake struck the Noto Peninsula in the central prefecture of Ishikawa, causing buildings to collapse, fires to start, and tsunami warnings to be sent as far away as eastern Russia.
As of Tuesday afternoon, at least 48 deaths had been officially reported, an Ishikawa prefecture representative told CNN.
The northern area of the remote Noto Peninsula has had restricted access for more than 24 hours after the earthquake, but the Meteorological Agency of Japan cancelled all tsunami advisories along portions of the country’s western coast on Tuesday.
Following a disaster emergency meeting on Tuesday, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida informed the media that the location was no longer accessible due to a wrecked road.
He stated that after flying over the peninsula, which is renowned for its agricultural and maritime beauties, officials in helicopters saw big fires, landslides, and damaged roads.
We must mobilise every mode of transportation, including air and sea travel, to safeguard the way there. Since last night, we have been attempting to get staff, supplies, and goods there, Kishida stated.
With almost 27,000 residents, the capital city of Wajima seemed to be among the hardest affected. CNN was informed by Wajima city officials that 15 deaths had been confirmed in the area.
The seaside resort is well-known for its exquisite traditional lacquerware and morning market, but early aerial photos taken on Tuesday showed massive plumes of smoke and smouldering fires enveloping streets of demolished houses.
Following the earthquake, a fire in Wajima broke out, resulting in the burning of over 100 stores and homes, according to a report by NHK, the national broadcaster of Japan.
According to NHK, the city had tsunami waves that were about 1.2 metres (3.9 feet) high earlier.
Thousands of individuals evacuated coastal areas in response to the earthquake and tsunami warnings. A representative for the local administration told CNN that as of Tuesday afternoon, more than 27,700 individuals in Ishikawa had sought refuge in 336 evacuation centres.
Although the exact amount of Monday’s earthquake damage is yet unknown, it pales in comparison to the devastation caused by the 9.0 magnitude earthquake in 2011, which sent off a tsunami that resulted in a nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima power plant—a catastrophe that is still being felt today.
overnight search and rescue operations
Prime Minister Kishida announced on Tuesday that individuals were being rescued from damaged regions overnight by police and fire emergency teams along with members of Japan’s Self Defence Force.
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Rescue operations face a temporal constraint. The victims of fallen structures in particular need to be saved as quickly as possible, he stated.
According to NHK, Japan’s fire service announced on Monday that it was reacting to reports of persons who were reportedly trapped under damaged structures.
According to NHK, which cited Ishikawa police, an old man who had been removed from a house that had collapsed in the earthquake was later verified to have perished.
Some doctors were unable to treat injured patients because they were unable to get to work due to damaged roads, according to health officials in the city of Suzu.
As for Ishikawa, 45,700 households did not have electricity on Tuesday, according to Hokuriku Electric Power.
Yoshimasa Hayashi, the chief cabinet secretary of Japan and Kansai Electric, stated that no anomalies have been detected at nuclear power plants close to the impacted areas after the earthquake.
According to NHK, which cited Japan Railways West, four bullet trains that had their fast travel suspended due to the earthquake, locking over 1,400 passengers inside for roughly 11 hours, started operating again Tuesday morning.
After the 7.5 magnitude earthquake, the high-speed trains were stuck between the major cities of Toyama and Kanazawa.
Aftershock threats persist despite the lifting of tsunami warnings
The Japan Meteorological Agency promptly issued a “major tsunami warning” for Noto following Monday’s strong earthquake, the first such warning for the region since the deadly earthquake and tsunami of 2011. However, the warning was later modified to a “tsunami warning.”
Later, as the likelihood of additional tsunami waves decreased, tsunami warnings were cancelled.
Waves predicted to be less than one metre are classified as “tsunami advisory” under Japan’s tsunami warning system, waves predicted to be up to three metres as “tsunami warning,” and waves predicted to be more than five metres as “major tsunami warning.”
Just over ten minutes after the earthquake, the first waves were said to have hit the coast.
On Monday, a wave in the western city of Suzu is seen breaking over a coastal wall for protection.
At least 35 minor aftershocks were recorded close to the earthquake’s epicentre, according to the US Geological Survey.
Aftershocks may linger for months, according to US Geological Survey seismologist Susan Hough.
People in that region of the country have experienced earthquakes in the past, according to Hough, but she thinks that this is “the biggest earthquake by far,” meaning that most locals have probably never experienced a seismic event of this magnitude.
“With an earthquake of size, aftershocks are inevitable. Its potential for aftershocks greater than a magnitude 6 makes it a risk unto itself, according to Hough.
