WAJIMA, JAPAN – A series of powerful earthquakes struck western Japan, claiming the lives of at least eight individuals and causing extensive damage to buildings, vehicles, and boats. Officials are urging residents in some areas to avoid returning home due to the ongoing risk of additional strong quakes.
Aftershocks continued to rattle Ishikawa prefecture and surrounding regions, following a magnitude 7.6 earthquake that rocked the area on Monday afternoon.
Wajima city, where eight fatalities were confirmed, faced severe damage to homes, making an immediate assessment challenging. Kyodo news agency reported at least 13 confirmed deaths.
“Saving lives is our priority, and we are fighting a battle against time,” stated Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday. “It is critical that people trapped in homes get rescued immediately.”
Even as Kishida spoke, a quake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.6 shook the area. Japan’s military mobilized 1,000 soldiers to join rescue efforts in the disaster zones, acknowledging the scale of the damage.
Firefighters battled a raging fire in Wajima city, painting the sky with embers and smoke. The extent of damage to homes and structures is still under investigation.
Despite the catastrophe, nuclear regulators reported that several nuclear plants in the region were operating normally. This incident raised concerns as a major quake and tsunami in March 2011 led to the meltdown of three reactors at a nuclear plant in northeastern Japan.
Images from news videos depicted rows of collapsed houses, flattened wooden structures, overturned cars, and half-sunken ships in bays affected by tsunami waves. On Monday, the Japan Meteorological Agency issued a major tsunami warning for Ishikawa, downgrading it later, along with lifting all tsunami warnings by early Tuesday. Some areas experienced waves measuring over one meter.
Evacuated residents sought shelter in auditoriums, schools, and community centers. Bullet trains were halted, highways were closed, water pipes burst, and cellphone service was disrupted in certain areas. While service restoration efforts were underway, the Meteorological Agency warned of the potential for more major quakes in the coming days.
U.S. President Joe Biden expressed readiness to provide necessary assistance for the Japanese people, emphasizing the nation’s vulnerability to earthquakes due to its location along the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.