Tsunami warnings are issued and 90,000 people have been ordered to evacuate after an earthquake hit Japan. Image: GDACS//BBC
Nearly 90,000 residents have been ordered to evacuate after Japan was hit by a major earthquake that prompted tsunami warnings.
The earthquake, which struck about 30 miles deep off the coast of the Aomori region in Japan’s northeast, measured 7.6 on the Richter scale. According to reports from local media, some people have been injured, although no numbers are available at the time of this writing. Waves of 16 feet were seen in some places as well, but the tsunami warning hasn’t been lifted. Trains have been suspended in the region.
Japan, one of the world’s most earthquake-prone areas on Earth, is no stranger to the devastation they can cause. In 2011, the Fukushima quake became one of the world’s worst nuclear disasters ever recorded when an earthquake measuring 9.0 struck and the resulting tsunami erased large parts of the coast.
Japanese authorities are scurrying to plan the next steps. “We are making every effort to assess the damage and implement emergency disaster response measures, including rescue and relief operations,” chief cabinet secretary Minoru Kihara said.
