Tsunami waves more than 1m high hit central Japan yesterday after a series of powerful earthquakes that damaged homes, closed highways and prompted authorities to urge people to run to higher ground.
A major magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck the Noto region in Ishikawa Prefecture at about 4:10pm, the US Geological Survey said.
Japan’s weather agency reported a succession of 21 quakes of magnitude 4.0 or stronger hitting the nation’s central region in just over 90 minutes.
Photo: Kyodo via Reuters
Tsunami waves as high as 1.2m hit Wajima port in Ishikawa Prefecture at 4:21pm, about 10 minutes after the strongest jolt, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.
“All residents must evacuate immediately to higher ground,” national broadcaster NHK said after the quakes.
Hazardous tsunami waves were possible within 300km of the quake’s epicenter along the coast, on the Sea of Japan side of Japan’s main island of Honshu, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of the Interior via CNA
The Japanese government said it was still assessing what damage had been caused and whether there had been any casualties.
About 33,500 households around the epicenter in Toyama, Ishikawa and Niigata prefectures were without power, local utilities said.
A video clip posted on social media showed lines of wooden houses toppled by the quakes, with walls and roofs caved in.
“This is the Matsunami District of Noto. We are in a horrible situation. Please come and help us. My town is in a horrible situation,” a person heard in the video said.
Japanese government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said there were no abnormalities reported at the Shika nuclear power plant in Ishikawa or at other plants.
In Taipei, Presidential Office spokeswoman Lin Yu-chan (林聿禪) said that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) had expressed concern and condolences, as well as the hope that people in Japan could return to normal life as soon as possible.
Tsai instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to contact the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association in Taipei to understand the situation and express a willingness to provide assistance.
The ministry said that it had contacted the association and asked the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Osaka to find out whether any Taiwanese were trapped.
The office said that visiting Taiwanese groups and student groups had reported no injuries so far, adding that it is assisting some tourists who were unable to fly home.
The office is to continue to monitor the situation and possible tsunami events, and provide necessary assistance to Taiwanese in need.
People who encounter an emergency can call the office’s emergency line on 81-90-8794-4568, the ministry said.
Additional reporting by Liu Tzu-hsuan
‘CROWN JEWEL’: Washington ‘can delay and deter’ Chinese President Xi Jinping’s plans for Taiwan, but it is ‘a very delicate situation there,’ the secretary of state said US President Donald Trump is opposed to any change to Taiwan’s “status quo” by force or extortion and would maintain that policy, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Hugh Hewitt Show host on Wednesday. The US’ policy is to maintain Taiwan’s “status quo” and to oppose any changes in the situation by force or extortion, Rubio said. Hewitt asked Rubio about the significance of Trump earlier this month speaking with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) at the White House, a meeting that Hewitt described as a “big deal.” Asked whether the meeting was an indication of the
‘RELATIVELY STRONG LANGUAGE’: An expert said the state department has not softened its language on China and was ‘probably a little more Taiwan supportive’ China’s latest drills near Taiwan on Monday were “brazen and irresponsible threats,” a US Department of State spokesperson said on Tuesday, while reiterating Washington’s decades-long support of Taipei. “China cannot credibly claim to be a ‘force for stability in a turbulent world’ while issuing brazen and irresponsible threats toward Taiwan,” the unnamed spokesperson said in an e-mailed response to media queries. Washington’s enduring commitment to Taiwan will continue as it has for 45 years and the US “will continue to support Taiwan in the face of China’s military, economic, informational and diplomatic pressure campaign,” the e-mail said. “Alongside our international partners, we firmly
KAOHSIUNG CEREMONY: The contract chipmaker is planning to build 5 fabs in the southern city to gradually expand its 2-nanometer chip capacity Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday confirmed that it plans to hold a ceremony on March 31 to unveil a capacity expansion plan for its most advanced 2-nanometer chips in Kaohsiung, demonstrating its commitment to further investment at home. The ceremony is to be hosted by TSMC cochief operating officer Y.P. Chyn (秦永沛). It did not disclose whether Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and high-ranking government officials would attend the ceremony. More details are to be released next week, it said. The chipmaker’s latest move came after its announcement earlier this month of an additional US$100 billion
Authorities yesterday elaborated on the rules governing Employment Gold Cards after a US cardholder was barred from entering Taiwan for six years after working without a permit during a 2023 visit. American YouTuber LeLe Farley was barred after already being approved for an Employment Gold Card, he said in a video published on his channel on Saturday. Farley, who has more than 420,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, was approved for his Gold Card last month, but was told at a check-in counter at the Los Angeles International Airport that he could not enter Taiwan. That was because he previously participated in two
RSS