Japan is recovering from violent earthquake: dozens injured, millions without electricity

The city of Fukushima, in northern Japan, was affected by a 7.3 degree earthquake who left as a balance at least 74 people injured and nearly a million homes without electricity, as reported by the National Agency for Disaster Management, although NHK state television brought the number of injured to 146. The earthquake was felt in the country’s capital, Tokyo, where some buildings vibrated.

For its part, Japan Nuclear Regulatory Agency assured that he had not received any reports of anomalies in the nuclear power plants of Fukushima I and Fukushima II, where on March 11, 2011 a magnitude 9 earthquake accompanied by a gigantic tsunami caused 18,000 deaths and disappearances and severely damaged the nuclear power plant of Fukushima Daiichi. The radiation activity of Fukushima Tokyo Electric Power Co., confirmed by the plant operator and stated that the “Minor water overflow from the pool that stores nuclear fuels”.

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Regarding the earthquake, the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA) was able to assess hours later that he initially had a magnitude 7.1, and assured that it is a distant aftershock of the earthquake of March 11, 2011. The epicenter of the earthquake was located 60 km deep in the Pacific Ocean and about 60 km off the coast of Fukushima. In this context, the Japanese authorities urged the population to “exercise extreme caution” as there could be more aftershocks in the coming days as the risk of landslides will increase with the rains forecast for Monday in the region. .

Government spokesman Katsunobu Kato reported that members of the Japanese self-defense forces were sent to the affected areas to distribute water to the 4,800 households without access to running water, according to the AFP news agency. More than 250 people took refuge in 64 evacuation centers overnight, but most have already returned home, Kato added.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga called an extraordinary meeting of his emergency cabinet, then ordered an assessment of the damage caused by the earthquake, the coordination of the rescue response, if necessary, and the release of information likely to interest the population.

Japan is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, one of the domains with the greatest seismic activity on the planet, but their construction standards are strict so that the buildings can withstand strong shaking.

AFP / DT