Powerful Earthquake Slams Japan, Residents Flee Some Coastal Areas
Editor
1 January 2024 22:28 WIB
More than 36,000 households had lost power in Ishikawa and Toyama prefectures, areas where temperatures were set to drop to near freezing overnight, according to utility provider Hokuriku Electric Power (9505.T). Telecoms operators also reported phone and internet outages in some areas.
Forty train lines and two high-speed rail services to the quake-hit area halted operations, while six expressways were closed and one of Ishikawa's airports was forced to shut due to a crack in the runway, transport authorities said.
Japanese airline ANA (9202.T) turned back the planes headed to airports in Toyama and Ishikawa, while Japan Airlines (9201.T) canceled most of its services to the Niigata and Ishikawa regions.
NUCLEAR PLANTS
The quake comes at a sensitive time for Japan's nuclear industry, which has faced fierce opposition from some locals since a 2011 earthquake and tsunami triggered nuclear meltdowns in Fukushima. Nearly 20,000 people were killed and whole towns were devastated in the disaster.
Japan last week lifted an operational ban imposed on the world's biggest nuclear plant, Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, which has been offline since the 2011 tsunami.
Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority said no irregularities have been confirmed at nuclear power plants along the Sea of Japan, including five active reactors at Kansai Electric Power’s (9503.T) Ohi and Takahama plants in Fukui Prefecture.
Hokuriku's Shika plant in Ishikawa, the closest nuclear power station to the quake’s epicenter, had already halted its two reactors before the quake for regular inspections and saw no impact from the quake, the agency said.
Monday's quake struck during the Jan. 1 public holiday when millions of Japanese traditionally visit temples to mark the new year.
In Kanazawa, a popular tourist destination in Ishikawa, images showed the remnants of a shattered stone gate strewn at the entrance of a shrine as anxious worshippers looked on.
Kanazawa resident Ayako Daikai said she had evacuated to a nearby elementary school with her husband and two children soon after the earthquake hit. Classrooms, stairwells, hallways, and the gymnasium were all packed with evacuees, she said.
"We haven't decided when to return home yet," she told Reuters when contacted by telephone.
The jolt was also felt by tourists who had flocked to Japan's mountainous Nagano region for the start of the snow sports season.
Johnny Wu, a 50-year-old Taiwanese snowboarder, was waiting for a shuttle bus back to his hotel in the resort town of Hakuba when the quake hit, rattling windows and shaking snow off roofs and overhead electric wires.
"Everybody was panicked at that time. I’m a little bit better because, I come from Taiwan, so I've experienced a lot. But...(I'm) still worried about (the quake) getting more serious," he said.
REUTERS
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