Update on 7.6 Magnitude Earthquake that Hit Japan
EARTHQUAKE – A 7.6 magnitude quake causing destruction in buildings jolted the west coast of Japan on New Year’s day, January 1, 2024.
Quakes are among the natural calamities that cannot be predicted accurately. Even the experts in the most progressive countries agree on a common ground that such natural occurence that the history holds that no scientist has ever given a forecast of a particular major quake. It can happen anytime, anywhere like how it recently struck Japan.
On New Year’s Day, January 1, 2024, a massive 7.6 magnitude earthquake hit the west coast of Japan and its neighboring South Korea. The said quake left damages in homes and infrastructures, some human deaths, and the call for evacuation.
The 7.6 magnitude quake triggered waves of about 1 meter along Japan’s west coast and its neighboring country, the South Korea. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) issued a major tsunami warning following the powerful quake.
Based on a report on Reuters, the recent 7.6 magnitude earthquake that struck Japan on New Year’s day was the first quake to ignite a tsunami warning since the March 2011 quake and tsunami that hit the country. The said quake and tsunami events in 2011 left around 20,000 deaths in Ishikawa prefecture.
The JMA has later on downgraded the tsunami warning into an advisory. One of the report casualties was a man who fell down in Shika Town in Ishikawa. Four (4) fatalities were later confirmed in the same prefecture.
Traditionally, millions of Japanese people visit shrines and temples on New Year’s day. The recent quake left damages in infrastructures including the stone gate strewn at the entrance of a shrine in Kanazawa.
Some areas in Japan also reported that fire broke out following the 7.6 magnitude earthquake. Based on the report, there were several tremors that followed the powerful quake and the Japanese government has ordered over 97,000 people in nine prefectures in the main island Honshu to evacuate.
The residents who had to evacuate spent the night in school gymnasiums and sport halls which are usually used as evacuation centers in Japan when natural calamities happen. The government has already ordered the search and rescue teams to do everything to extend help to those who are in need even in quake-hit areas.
