Powerful earthquake tears homes down and triggers tsunami
The large earthquake struck just off the Noto Peninsula at a little after 4pm local time.
It was very shallow, and the shaking was very severe, bringing down buildings in towns and villages along the coast.
For several hours after the quake struck, authorities said the Sea of Japan coast could be hit by tsunamis of up to five metres.
Tens of thousands of people were told to leave their homes and head for higher ground.
It immediately brought back memories March 2011 when a 15m tsunami inflicted massive destruction along Japan’s north-east coast, killing nearly 20,000 people.
Powerful earthquake tears homes down and triggers tsunami
The threat of a major tsunami has now passed, and the severe tsunami warning that was issued for much of the north-west coast has now been downgraded. But the damage is still severe.
Older houses have been brought down, roads torn up, bridges and railways severely damaged.
Some people are reported trapped under collapsed buildings and hospitals are reporting many injured.
It’s now night in Japan and it won’t be till daybreak that we start to get a full picture of just how extensive the damage has been.
Yoshimasa Hayashi, chief cabinet secretary of Japan, has been giving a news conference, warning of the risk of further earthquakes.
He stressed that the authorities were still collecting information on the damage. There has been no word yet on overall casualties.
However, the government spokesman said there were six reported cases of people trapped under the rubble of collapsed houses.
He could not say if this meant six people or more, but he did say there had been multiple reports of buildings falling down.
The Wajima City Fire Department in Ishikawa says it has received at least 30 reports of buildings collapsing, the Japanese public broadcaster NHK is reporting.
The “major tsunami warning” for the Ishikawa Prefecture has been downgraded to a “tsunami warning” but officials are still urging caution, with people in the area being asked to evacuate.
Powerful earthquake tears homes down and triggers tsunami
