A powerful 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit central Japan early this morning today, followed by tsunami warnings. Authorities have asked people to evacuate and move to higher grounds. A tsunami of 1.2 metres was confirmed to have arrived in Wajima city in Ishikawa prefecture.
The Indian Embassy in Japan has set up an emergency control room for anyone to contact in connection with the Earthquake and Tsunami. The India office in Japan has issued emergency numbers and email IDs to seek assistance.
The embassy has issued five numbers and two email IDs for people who need assistance. The Indian officials are in regular contact with the authorities and have requested people to follow all the instructions issued by the local government.
The Japan Meterological Agency (JMA) said the Noto region, on the Sea of Japan side of Japan's main island of Honshu, experienced a rapid succession of quakes, starting with a 5.7 magnitude tremor at 4:06 pm local time.
This was followed by a 7.6-magnitude quake at 4:10 pm, a 6.1 magnitude quake at 4:18 pm, a 4.5 magnitude one at 4:23 pm, a 4.6 magnitude quake at 4:29 pm, and 4.8 magnitude quake at 4:32 pm. Another quake with a magnitude of 6.2 hit soon after, the US Geological Survey said.
The largest of the quakes prompted broadcasters to switch to special programming and make urgent calls for affected residents to leave for higher ground.
Japan is haunted by the memory of a massive 9.0-magnitude undersea quake off northeastern Japan in March 2011, which triggered a tsunami that left around 18,500 people dead or missing.
The 2011 tsunami also sent three reactors into meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant, causing Japan's worst post-war disaster and the most serious nuclear accident since Chernobyl.
In March 2022, a 7.4-magnitude quake off the coast of Fukushima shook large areas of eastern Japan, killing three people.
