The first tsunamis arrive on the west coast of Japan after the Noto Peninsula earthquake

Firefighters fight a large fire in the city of Wajima, the most affected town, where there are at least six people trapped

The nuclear power plants in the area have not reported damage

Japanese authorities have confirmed the arrival of tsunamis on the west coast of Japan, particularly in the Ishikawa prefecture, hours after the earthquake of preliminary magnitude 7.6 that shook the west coast of the country.

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. .

Ishikawa has come to find itself under a "major tsunami warning", the first of its kind since the devastating 2011 earthquake, and one that involves the appearance of waves of between three and five meters against the coast. The alert has been withdrawn around noon, also Spanish time. However, the peninsula remains under moderate alert; the second of the four alarm levels.

The authorities have also confirmed the arrival of waves in the prefectures of Yamagata, Niigata and Toyama, where there are records of four injuries, specifically in the town of Kurobe, including an 80-year-old woman who fell to the ground during the process of evacuation. At least six people are trapped under rubble and it remains to be seen if a large fire that broke out in Wajima, the most affected town, has left any injuries.

The city, in Ishikawa prefecture, has received the worst effects of the earthquake. At least a dozen buildings have collapsed and there are currently six people 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'.

So far, according to the Japanese Ministry of Defense, approximately 1,000 residents of the city have been evacuated through the military base, where members of the 14th General Regiment of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces have begun to arrive to attend rescue operations. on the terrain.

THE NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS HAVE NOT RECORDED DAMAGES

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.

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.

However, the National Meteorological Administration of Japan has warned that the danger is not over. According to specialists from the Japanese agency, the aftershocks will continue during the next week. Especially dangerous will be the next two or three days, during which there is a possibility of repeated strong tremors of magnitude greater than 7. Japanese seismologists ask local residents, in this regard, to be extremely vigilant.