Arissa Chen '27
On January 1, 2024, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6 struck Japan’s Noto Peninsula. Japan was hit with 21 earthquakes that were 4.0 magnitude or higher in around 90 minutes. The earthquake hit Japan at around 16:00. At least 100 people were killed, 30 people were injured, and 200 people went missing.
Japan is prone to earthquakes because it sits on four active tectonic plates. Aftershocks hit Western Japan, and they were recorded to be as high as 6.2 magnitude. The aftershocks disrupted public transportation and flights were canceled.
In the Ishikawa prefecture, around 32,500 houses lost power and four deaths were also confirmed by the Ishikawa prefectural government. In Wajima, a fire had started which had wooden houses. The ceilings had collapsed in a pachinko parlor in Toyama prefecture with eight people.
In northern Hokkaido and southwest of Kyushu, the earthquake was felt. It was reported by the Yomiuri newspaper that there were hundreds of landslides which caused road blockage. Japan has spent 4.74 billion yen on aid for those who were affected by the earthquake. Soldiers were sent to deliver food, water, and medicine to those who had evacuated to auditoriums, schools, and other areas.
Japan had also issued a tsunami warning and evacuation orders after the earthquake. The waves were estimated to reach up to 10 feet but the predictions were lowered. The coastline was shifted over 800 feet.
Prefectures on the Sea of Japan side were issued tsunami warnings, advising people to flee to higher land. North Korea, South Korea, and Russia had alerts about similar issues. South Korea was watching sea level changes along its east coast after the earthquake.
Japan had dealt with earthquakes and tsunamis similar to this in 2011. The earthquake had a magnitude of 9.0 which caused the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. The tsunami had waves that reached almost 130 feet and caused the death of over 18,000 people.
Comments