What we know about the earthquake off Japan’s Fukushima coast

The quake hit round 12:30 a.m. native time (11:30 a.m. ET) off the coast of Fukushima, north of the capital Tokyo.

It was initially designated a 7.3-magnitude quake, however was upgraded to 7.4 on Thursday.

As of Thursday, all tsunami warnings issued after the quake have been lifted.

The epicenter of Wednesday’s earthquake was about 89 kilometers (55 miles) from the middle of the devastating 2011 quake.

Robert Geller, a seismologist and professor emeritus on the College of Tokyo, instructed Wednesday’s quake might have been a 2011 aftershock. “In geological phrases, aftershocks will persist for 50 to 100 years, however as time goes on, the frequency of aftershocks and their dimension will diminish,” he mentioned.

4 folks, together with a person in his 60s, have been confirmed useless, and at the least 160 others injured, Japanese authorities mentioned Thursday.

Footage from the capital, Tokyo, present road lights and flats shaking. Tens of hundreds of households misplaced energy throughout the town, however it was restored inside a couple of hours.

No “abnormalities” had been detected within the nation’s nuclear crops, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida mentioned.

A bullet prepare touring via Miyagi prefecture derailed through the quake, with 78 folks trapped on board for 4 hours. All finally escaped unhurt via an emergency exit, in response to public broadcaster NHK.

Pictures from Fukushima and Miyagi present buildings broken by the quake, with home windows shattered, roof tiles and flooring damaged, and ceilings caved in. Merchandise and particles littered the flooring of shops and supermarkets.

Wednesday’s quake occurred off the coast, 37 miles (60 kilometers) deep — which could have restricted the harm. Probably the most damaging earthquakes occur near the earth’s floor slightly than deep within the crust, Geller mentioned.

How does this examine to the 2011 quake?

The distinction between Wednesday’s 7.4-magnitude quake and 2011’s 9.1-magnitude quake is staggering.

Whereas Wednesday’s earthquake induced tsunami waves simply 8 inches (0.2 meters) excessive, the 2011 quake triggered 30-foot (9.1 meters) waves that broken a number of nuclear reactors within the space.

The 2011 catastrophe left greater than 22,000 useless or lacking, from the preliminary earthquake, tsunami and post-disaster well being situations. As of final yr, greater than 35,000 folks remained displaced, 10 years after the meltdown.

The cleanup is anticipated to final many years and value billions of {dollars}.

Since 2011, Japan has stepped up its response programs to higher cope with such disasters, together with bettering early earthquake warning programs and seismic statement expertise.

May extra earthquakes or tsunamis come?

Japan’s Meteorological Company warned the general public to remain alert for aftershocks and the doable threat of mudslides or landslides. It additionally urged folks in affected areas to steer clear of the coast and never get into the ocean.

In a tweet, the Prime Minister’s workplace mentioned the federal government had established a countermeasure workplace that may work with native governments to hold out emergency measures together with search and rescue of potential victims.

Geller, the seismologist, mentioned Japan can count on extra aftershocks within the subsequent week that may steadily taper off.

Although he mentioned there’s additionally a risk that Wednesday’s quake was a “foreshock” earlier than a bigger earthquake, cautioning the possibilities of this taking place are very low however “not zero.”

“Yesterday’s earthquake is an efficient reminder for folks in Japan to keep in mind that Japan is earthquake-prone and that earthquakes can strike at any time,” he mentioned. “So folks ought to be ready.”