Japan lifts tsunami warning after earthquake, but recommends evacuees not return

At least two people have died as a result of the earthquake, which has caused significant material damage

MADRID, 1 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) -

On Monday night, the Japan Meteorological Agency lowered the tsunami alert to a warning hours after the 7.6 magnitude earthquake that shook the west coast of the country and caused at least two deaths and several injuries and trappings. building collapses.

The "major tsunami alert" issued by the Ishikawa prefecture has changed to a "tsunami warning", although they have urged the population not to return to their homes in risk areas due to the danger of new earthquakes in the area. area and therefore maintains the evacuation recommendation, reports Japanese public television NHK.

The head of Earthquake Information Planning at the Japan Meteorological Agency, Toshihiro Shimoyama, appeared at a press conference this Monday afternoon to warn that there will be new waves of significant height in the affected areas and therefore people should remain on high ground until further notice.

There is also a risk of new landslides that could cause landslides and building collapses, which is why Shimoyama has urged the population to remain alert.

The earthquakes could repeat themselves during the next week, especially during the next two or three days. And at least 25 aftershocks have already been detected, all of lower intensity than the original.

The earthquake, with a hypocenter around ten kilometers deep, was the most intense of the chain of 20 earthquakes recorded between 08:06 and 09:29 (Spanish peninsular time) in the vicinity of the coast of Ishikawa and the neighboring prefecture of Niigata. .

The earthquake has caused significant material damage, the collapse of some buildings in which people could be trapped, and a fire. In addition, the death of two people has been confirmed in the city of Nanao, in Ishikawa prefecture, who suffered cardiorespiratory arrest, according to the Police.

Hospitals in the prefectures of Ishikawa, Niigata, Fukui, Toyama and Gifu have received injuries, most from the impact of objects displaced during the earthquake. Some of them have fractures.

The city of Kurobe has received the worst effects of the earthquake. At least a dozen buildings have collapsed and at least six people have been trapped under the rubble, according to the Chief Secretary of the Japanese Cabinet, Hayashi Yoshimasa, the first senior government official to appear before the media.

In addition, firefighters are also fighting a large fire declared in the city, which is spreading through the Kawaicho neighborhood with no information on victims so far, as reported by the Disaster Prevention Division in a statement collected by ' Asahi Shimbun'.

Firefighters in the city of Wajima, in Ishikawa, have received more than 50 reports of home collapses and have also responded to reports of people trapped in buildings.

The authorities of the city of Nomi have confirmed a hundred displaced people sheltered in the City Hall headquarters and in the Yamagata prefecture there are about 2,000 evacuees housed in municipal facilities.

The Japanese Government has confirmed that some 30,000 homes have been left without power throughout the prefecture but the nuclear power plants in the area do not appear to have been affected, according to the Chief Cabinet Secretary, Hayashi Yoshimasa, who appeared around 5:00 p.m. at a press conference.

Hokuriku Electric Power Company has specified that there are about 33,000 homes without power in Ishikawa Prefecture, including 10,000 in Wajima; 7,300 in Noto and 7,100 in Suzu.

There is only evidence of an electrical transformer fire at the Shiga nuclear plant, in the prefecture of the same name, but the flames have been extinguished and the plant itself is not affected.

The operator Kansai Electric Power Company has not confirmed any damage to the Ohi and Takahama nuclear power plants, in the prefecture of Fukui, two of the most vulnerable on the western coast in the event of a possible earthquake, reports the Japanese public broadcaster NHK.

The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa power plant has not been affected at the moment either, according to a statement from the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) reported by the 'Asahi Shimbun'.

Residents of the country's capital have reported tremors in buildings as a result of the earthquake, but at the moment there are no reports of victims in the metropolis. Russia has issued wave alerts for the island of Sakhalin and Vladivostok, although it has not given an evacuation order. South Korea, and specifically its coastal province of Gangwon, is under a mild tsunami warning.