A strong earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale was felt today (Monday) in northern Japan, when approximately 36,000 homes were cut off from electricity as a result of damage to the grid lines. Following the earthquake, the Japan Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami warning in the prefectures of Niigata, Ishikawa and Toyama in the west of the country.
According to local media reports, the epicenter was in the Ishikawa area. It was reported on the NHK network that tsunami waves have already hit several districts, with waves up to 1.2 meters high reported to have been observed on some beaches in the city of Wajima. They also warned that a tsunami with a height of five meters is expected to hit the shores of Noto Peninsula in northern Japan.
The local authorities called on the residents of the districts to prepare for further tremors and evacuate their homes as soon as possible, or alternatively go to high places and roofs of buildings. At the same time, the Hokuriku Electric Power Company announced that they are checking whether there is damage to the nuclear facilities in the area of the earthquake, but noted that so far no unusual reports have been received.
