The number of deaths is continuously increasing due to the earthquake that occurred on Monday (the first day of the new year 2024) off the west coast of Japan’s main island Honshu.
According to a report in The Japan Times, this number has now increased to 13.
A magnitude 5.7 to 7.6 earthquake struck the Noto Peninsula of Ishikawa Prefecture shortly after 4 p.m. local time (7 p.m. GMT), causing buildings to collapse and several aftershocks.
Two people were found dead and seven others were injured in Ishikawa Prefecture, Kyodo news agency reported. 15 people were injured in neighboring Toyama Prefecture, 55 in Fukui Prefecture, 2 in Niigata Prefecture and one in Gifu Prefecture.
The earthquake was felt on the east coast of Honshu as far as Tokyo. The earthquake halted high-speed rail services and forced the evacuation of thousands of people.
Hokuriku Electric Power Co. said about 33,000 homes in Ishikawa were without power, public broadcaster NHK reported.
The Japan Meteorological Agency reported more than a dozen earthquakes, the largest of which was a magnitude 7.6, hitting the coastal region of Ishikawa and surrounding prefectures shortly after 4 p.m. local time. The earthquake caused fires and collapsed buildings on the west coast of Japan’s main island, Honshu. But it is not clear how many people may have been injured.
The agency initially issued a major tsunami warning for Ishikawa and a low-level tsunami warning or advisory for the rest of the west coast of Honshu Island and the far northern region of Hokkaido.
Several hours later the warning was changed to a regular tsunami, meaning the water could now reach three meters (10 feet). It said aftershocks could hit the region in the next few days.
Earlier, Japan’s government broadcaster ‘NHK TV’ had warned that waves could rise up to five meters in the sea.
According to NHK TV, there are fears that the tsunami waves will continue to return and warnings were issued after the initial alert. Several aftershocks were felt in the region.