Tokyo (dpa) – A tsunami warning was lifted Tuesday in Japan after waves of over 1 metre hit the north-east of the country following a magnitude-7.4 earthquake off Fukushima.
Waves of up to 1.4 metres hit Sendai port in Miyagi prefecture at 8.03 am (2303 GMT Monday), about two hours after the tremor, according to Japan’s Meteorological Agency.
The quake prompted the agency to issue a tsunami warning in the prefectures of Miyagi and Fukushima for waves of up to three metres and to urge residents to move to higher ground, but the warning was lifted four hours later.
Thousands of residents in the coastal areas of the north-east evacuated their homes, local media reported.
Tsunami waves of up to 90 centimetres were recorded in the prefecture of Fukushima, one hour after the quake, the agency said.
Up to 80-centimetre-high tsunamis were also observed in areas from Iwate prefecture to the Izu island chain, south of Tokyo, it said.
A file photo of Ikata nuclear reactor on August 12, 2016 in Ikata, Ehime prefecture, northwestern Shikoku, Japan. (Credit Image: © Richard Atrero De Guzman/NurPhoto via ZUMA Press)
Tsunami waves of 1 metre were also seen on the coasts of two nuclear power stations in Fukushima, an official from the operator Tokyo Electric Power told a news conference.
Even tsunami waves of just a few metres can cause considerable damage, as they have a longer wavelength than normal waves, meaning a tsunami wave peak can continue to hit the coast for a number of minutes.
In March 2011, a magnitude-9 quake and resulting tsunami struck the same region, claiming the lives of about 18,500 people and causing Japan’s worst nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
Tuesday’s earthquake brought a fuel cooling system to a halt at Reactor 3 at Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Station, 10 kilometres south of the Daiichi plant, Tokyo Electric said. The plant’s reactors have been suspended.
The operator has restored power to the system, it said.
“I have been informed that (the cooling failure) will not immediately lead to a radiation leak or an increase in the temperature of the fuel,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference.
No abnormalities had been detected at the plant following the quake, the operator said.
In Tokyo, Suga said the government had not otherwise received any reports of major damage from the region on Tuesday.
Suga urged residents in the affected areas to be alert to evacuation instructions from the military and local authorities and to pay attention to information broadcast on television and radio and help each other.
There were reports of minor injuries, according to Japanese media.
The quake struck at 5.59 am local time and was centred off Fukushima, at a depth of 25 kilometres, the Meteorological Agency said, revising the depth from an earlier estimation of 10 kilometres.
The quake has also been revised up to magnitude 7.4, from a preliminary reading of 7.3, according to the agency.
The quake shook buildings in Tokyo, 250 kilometres south-west of Fukushima and temporarily suspended bullet train services. Some flights to and from Sendai airport were cancelled.
Earthquake-prone Japan sits at the convergence of four tectonic plates. The country is also home to 110 active volcanoes.
