Japan Earthquake Knocks Out Power To Millions, Prompts Brief Tsunami Advisory

Tokyo — A powerful 7.3-magnitude earthquake jolted eastern Japan late Wednesday night, shaking capital Tokyo and prompting a brief tsunami advisory for parts of the northeast coast — including the area devastated by a much larger quake in 2011. 

Not long after the quake struck at 11:36 p.m. an advisory for tsunami waves of about three feet was issued for parts of the northeast coast. The earthquake was centered off the coast of the Fukushima region, at a depth of about 40 miles.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center later said there was no longer a tsunami threat, though the Japan Meteorological Agency kept its low risk advisory in place. NHK national television said tsunami waves of 8 inches had already reached shore in one area.

The Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO), the utility company that covers most of the Tokyo region, said on its website that more than 2 million homes were without electricity due to the quake.

Videos posted online showed people's homes shaking in the capital. YouTube video creator John Daub posted one clip of his home office rattling.

"Bad memories of March 11, 2011 for us but we're fine in Tokyo," Daub said on his Twitter account. 

Fukushima was the area devastated by a massive earthquake and tsunami almost 11 years ago. The March 2011 temblor — significantly larger than Wednesday's with a magnitude of 9 on the Richter scale — sent monster waves crashing deep inland. The flooding swamped the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, causing a meltdown.

TEPCO, which operates the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, said workers found no abnormalities at the site, which is in the process of being decommissioned.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters that there were also no abnormalities at two other nuclear power plants in the region. 

The 2011 disaster left about 15,000 people dead, most of them killed by the floodwaters. The ensuing nuclear catastrophe was formally blamed for only one death, but many cases of cancer in the region have suspected links. 

Japan's Air Self-Defense Force said after Wednesday's quake that it had dispatched fighter jets from the Hyakuri base in Ibaraki prefecture, just south of Fukushima, for information gathering and damage assessment.

NHK said there were reports of fire, damage to buildings and falling rocks in Iitate town in Fukushima. There was no word on any casualties.

East Japan Railway Co. said most of its train services were suspended for safety checks.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters that the government was assessing the extent of damage and promised to do its utmost for rescue and relief operations.

"Please first take action to save your life," Kishida tweeted.

Matsuno said there were a number of emergency calls and local authorities were scrambling to assess damage.

"We are doing our utmost in rescue operations and putting people's lives first," he said.

He urged residents in the affected areas to use extra caution for possible major aftershocks for about a week.

First published on March 16, 2022 / 11:33 AM

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