The country’s weather agency has reported that there may be a slight rise in sea level, although the tsunami alert has not been triggered
This Saturday, the 13th, an earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Ritcher scale shook the coast of Fukushima in eastern Japan and was strongly felt in the capital Tokyo. For now, Japanese authorities have not activated the tsunami alert. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (AMJ), the earthquake occurred at 23h08 (local time, 11h08 GMT), with an epicenter about 60 kilometers deep off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture. In both Fukushima and neighboring Miyagi, on the country’s northeast coast, the earthquake reached level six on the Japanese scale, with a maximum of seven and more concentrated in the affected areas than in the intensity of the tremor. Other provinces on the east coast and central Japan were also severely hit by the earthquake, including the capital, where it reached level 4 on the Japanese scale.
AMJ said the earthquake could cause a slight rise in sea level. According to government spokesman Katsunobu Kato, “an emergency team” was formed to collect information and coordinate with local authorities “giving priority to saving potential victims”. “We are reviewing the situation to see if there was any personal or material damage,” said Kato. The energy company Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) said it had no record of any “significant abnormalities” in radiation levels at the Fukushima Daiichi and Daini plants, which are inactive and in the process of being dismantled due to the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. no damage was detected in other nuclear plants located in other affected areas, according to the state broadcaster “NHK”.
About 950 thousand homes were left without electricity due to the earthquake in various areas of the country, according to data from operators. In addition, several high-speed train lines (shinkansen) operating in northeastern Japan have suspended operations due to blackouts. In Fukushima and Miyagi, several fires were recorded, one at a factory, as well as an avalanche of dirt on a highway that may have buried cars, according to Japanese media, which also records a temporary balance of a dozen injured in related incidents. to the earthquake. On Twitter, users published records of the quake that left several parts of the country on alert.
Scenes from Fukushima train station after a M 7.1 quake hit off the Tohoku coast, weeks before the anniversary of the 2011 tsunami and nuclear disaster. (No tsunami this time —water appears to be from a leak in the station. Region’s nuclear power plants are checking for damage.) https://t.co/tgR1V7pS0I
— Hiroko Tabuchi (@Hiroko Tabuchi) February 13, 2021
Scale 7 earthquake happened now in Tokyo, lasted about a minute. It was certainly the worst I have seen so far.
– January Jubilee (@Jubilee) February 13, 2021
* With information from EFE
