For some, the incident introduced again painful reminiscences of 2011, when an earthquake triggered a tsunami inflicting a nuclear meltdown on the Fukushima energy plant, a catastrophe that is nonetheless being felt to at the present time.
Though the earthquake struck an analogous space, Wednesday’s quake hasn’t prompted a nationwide emergency — for quite a lot of causes.
Here’s what you’ll want to know.
The quake hit round 12:30 a.m. native time (11:30 a.m. ET) off the coast of Fukushima, north of the capital Tokyo.
It was initially designated a 7.3-magnitude quake, however was upgraded to 7.4 on Thursday.
As of Thursday, all tsunami warnings issued after the quake have been lifted.
The epicenter of Wednesday’s earthquake was about 89 kilometers (55 miles) from the middle of the devastating 2011 quake.
Robert Geller, a seismologist and professor emeritus on the University of Tokyo, instructed Wednesday’s quake might have been a 2011 aftershock. “In geological phrases, aftershocks will persist for 50 to 100 years, however as time goes on, the frequency of aftershocks and their measurement will diminish,” he stated.
Four folks, together with a person in his 60s, have been confirmed useless, and a minimum of 160 others injured, Japanese authorities stated Thursday.
Footage from the capital, Tokyo, present avenue lights and residences shaking. Tens of hundreds of households misplaced energy throughout the town, but it surely was restored inside a number of hours.
No “abnormalities” had been detected within the nation’s nuclear crops, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stated.
A bullet practice touring by way of Miyagi prefecture derailed through the quake, with 78 folks trapped on board for 4 hours. All ultimately escaped unhurt by way of an emergency exit, in response to public broadcaster NHK.
Photos from Fukushima and Miyagi present buildings broken by the quake, with home windows shattered, roof tiles and flooring damaged, and ceilings caved in. Merchandise and particles littered the flooring of shops and supermarkets.
Wednesday’s quake occurred off the coast, 37 miles (60 kilometers) deep — which could have restricted the injury. The most damaging earthquakes occur near the earth’s floor relatively than deep within the crust, Geller stated.
How does this evaluate to the 2011 quake?
The distinction between Wednesday’s 7.4-magnitude quake and 2011’s 9.1-magnitude quake is staggering.
The 2011 quake was about 63 instances stronger than Wednesday’s and launched about 500 instances extra vitality — probably the most highly effective quake to ever hit Japan. And it was solely 15.2 miles (26 kilometers) deep — which means its affect was a lot higher.
While Wednesday’s earthquake induced tsunami waves simply 8 inches (0.2 meters) excessive, the 2011 quake triggered 30-foot (9.1 meters) waves that broken a number of nuclear reactors within the space.
The 2011 catastrophe left greater than 22,000 useless or lacking, from the preliminary earthquake, tsunami and post-disaster well being circumstances. As of final 12 months, greater than 35,000 folks remained displaced, 10 years after the meltdown.
The cleanup is predicted to final a long time and price billions of {dollars}.
Since 2011, Japan has stepped up its response methods to higher cope with such disasters, together with enhancing early earthquake warning methods and seismic commentary know-how.
Could extra earthquakes or tsunamis come?
Japan’s Meteorological Agency warned the general public to remain alert for aftershocks and the doable danger of mudslides or landslides. It additionally urged folks in affected areas to avoid the coast and never get into the ocean.
In a tweet, the Prime Minister’s workplace stated the federal government had established a countermeasure workplace that may work with native governments to hold out emergency measures together with search and rescue of potential victims.
Geller, the seismologist, stated Japan can count on extra aftershocks within the subsequent week that may steadily taper off.
Though he stated there’s additionally a risk that Wednesday’s quake was a “foreshock” earlier than a bigger earthquake, cautioning the probabilities of this taking place are very low however “not zero.”
“Yesterday’s earthquake is an efficient reminder for folks in Japan to keep in mind that Japan is earthquake-prone and that earthquakes can strike at any time,” he stated. “So folks ought to be ready.”