At least four people died and more than 200 were injured by the strong earthquake that shook Fukushima last Wednesdayleaving infrastructure damage and interruptions in transportation and commercial activity that continue to be evaluated.
(Read: A strong earthquake of magnitude 7.3 shakes Japan and revives fears of 2011)
The earthquake, that shook the east and center of the archipelago for half a minute, began at 11:36 p.m. Wednesday (local time) at a depth of 57 kilometers off the coast of Fukushima and Miyagi, with a preliminary magnitude of 7.3 later revised to 7.4. It followed another brief tremor of 6.1 that hit the same area.
(Read interesting: Earthquake in Japan: photos and videos show how it was lived)
At least four people have died, reported Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, while the most recent balance of injuries collected by the public network NHK rises to 212.
The earthquake triggered a tsunami alert in the northeast that ended without major setbackswith a maximum height of 30 centimeters in the port of Ishinomaki, but which brought to mind, in the first moments of uncertainty, memories of the 2011 disaster, whose anniversary was on the 11th.
🇯🇵There was a powerful earthquake in Japan: more than 2 million buildings were left without electricity.
The Fukushima-1 and Fukushima-2 nuclear power plants were damaged, authorities are now assessing the damage. A tsunami is reported in Miyagi prefecture. pic.twitter.com/kmVN4FDB9x— REK 🔴 (@RekReck) March 16, 2022
Business closures and transportation suspension
With the light of day, local media broadcast images of damaged building facades, fallen tiles and products in stores scattered on the ground, which has led to some two hundred grocery stores in Miyagi and Fukushima not operating due to the loss of gender and energy cuts.
Some 2.2 million households were punctually left without electricity, according to the region’s supplier, Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), which reported the gradual resumption of service, although some 3,000 homes in the northeast are still without supply.
The central government has deployed troops in the city of Soma and surrounding towns to help distribute water.
The earthquake there registered an intensity of six, higher on the 7-level Japanese seismic scale, focused on measuring surface agitation and damage. At that level, many people find it impossible to stand without holding on to something or move except on all fours. The intensity registered in the capital was 4 on that scale.
Images of private houses shaking violently at the time of the earthquake and books and other belongings falling from shelves and furniture flooded the country’s social networks during the night.
The earthquake has caused the suspension of the production of several semiconductor manufacturers, including Renesas, Toshiba and Sonyand also from the global leader in the Toyota engine, while they assess the condition and solve problems at their facilities in the area.
the railway operator JR East has suspended some of its routes to the Northeast region until further notice after a high-speed train derailed without injuries and other damage.
“There is damage in many places, such as the roofs of some stations, beams, columns…, as well as obstacles on the tracks,” he told Eph a company spokesman, who does not know when they will be able to restore services.
Some 132,000 people in the Tokyo metropolitan area have been affected by it and airlines have ventured to charter planes to cover the affected routes. Some roads that connect with the region remain cut by cracks in the roadway or landslides that have blocked highways and county roads.
nuclear power plant alarms
I remembered what happened eleven years ago and I worried that something was wrong at the plant.
For its part, the company that owns and operates the nuclear power plants of Fukushima Daiichi (1) and Daini (2), is evaluating anomalies in the facilities as a result of the tremor.
in Daiichiin the process of being dismantled since the 2011 nuclear crisis, se detected a crack in one of the cooling systemswithout any leaks.
Some tanks that store tons of cubic meters of contaminated water (and later treated) after being used to cool the reactors damaged in the accident more than a decade ago have been displaced, and there are damages in some beams and other structures of the plant.
The company said it had not detected changes in the pressure of the reactor containment vessels or variations in radiation levels inside and around the facilities, although it continues to analyze the situation.
“I remembered what happened eleven years ago and I was worried if something was wrong at the plant,” several residents of Tomioka, one of the towns that had to evacuate in 2011 due to its proximity to the plant, agreed today in statements to the public network NHK. .
Seismologists have warned of the possibility of a similar earthquake occurring within a week. The northeastern region of Japan has already registered two earthquakes of considerable magnitude on similar dates in 2021.
On February 13 of last year, another 7.3 magnitude earthquake with an epicenter off Fukushima shook the country and about a month later, on March 20, another 7.2 magnitude earthquake occurred in Miyagi, with a tsunami warning included. . At that time, the Japanese seismic authorities described the tremors as possible aftershocks of the 2011 9.1 earthquake. INTERNATIONAL WRITING
*With information from AFP
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