Japan: Tsunami hits after series of powerful earthquakes

Residents of seven Japanese regions have been urged to flee an oncoming tsunami after a series of powerful earthquakes struck the east Asian country.

A one-metre tsunami has already struck parts of the west coast along the Sea of Japan after a series of more than 20 earthquakes with a magnitude of four or stronger started shortly after 3pm local time (6am GMT).

A larger second tsunami is expected and the Japan Meteorological Agency has warned that waves as high as five metres could strike Ishikawa, one of the affected regions.

Tsunami warnings are in place for the entire length of Japan’s northern coast, running some 1,650 miles from Wakkanai in the far north of Hokkaido to Kyushu in the south.

Warnings have also been issued in Russia’s far eastern island of Sakhalin and city of Vladivostok, as well as South Korea’s Gangwon province. The tsunami waves are not expected to be large enough to endanger life.

People living in coastal areas of seven prefectures were instructed to evacuate to higher ground or to seek refuge on higher floors of sturdy buildings.

Fumio Kishida, the prime minister, has urged authorities to prioritise “human life above all else” and “spare no effort in our emergency disaster responses”.

Read the latest here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/01/01/japan-earthquake-tsunami-live-latest-damage/

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50 comments

  7. As much as I want to make this only about Japan, if this was a certain place else, people would be looting amidst the chaos.

  22. In Japan, four tectonic plates meet:
    -the North American Plate in the North
    -the Eurasian Plate in the West,
    -the Philippine plate in the south
    -the Pacific Plate in the east,
    moving against each other by a few centimeters per year. Parts of the Pacific Plate slide underneath the Eurasian continental plate, leading to volcanism and frequent earthquakes. The continuous movement (subduction) of the crust parts, which leads to a slow reduction of the Pacific Ocean, prevents their large-scale welding. As a result, people in Japan should actually be used to earthquakes. The problem is that in Japan the population was concentrated in large cities. This always leads to deaths in earthquakes.

  31. why no one on video cover their head? sitting doesn't protect from falling objects. Are safety training teach about covering head or hiding under table at to protect from falling stuff like metal armature?

  33. Japanese people are strong and know how to behave. Just let say and believe not injure between them. God Bless these extraordinary people and country.❤

  35. 日本では1月1日は正月と言って、外国のクリスマスや感謝祭等の宗教的な祝い事と同じくらい、大切で、楽しくて、おめでたい日なんです
    流石に神様も避けてくれると思ってたんだけれども
    なんでこんなことに

  37. Makes me wonder about that whistle blower who just came forward talking about the weather stations in Antarctica where they have been able to create targeted earthquakes anywhere they want…

  48. I have no idea why but the Japanese taken as a group are the only people in the entire World that evoke in me "tenderness".
    I don't speak Japanese, I have never been to Japan but I suppose it all comes down to their manners, their kindness, the grace they do things with, their efficiency perhaps…
    If only our World had been more Japanised and much much much less Americanised…

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