Magnitude 7.5 quake in northern Japan injures 23 people and triggers a 2-foot tsunami

TOKYO (AP) — A powerful 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck off northern Japan late Monday, injuring 23 people and triggering a tsunami in Pacific coast communities, officials said.

Authorities warned of possible aftershocks and an increased risk of a megaquake.

The Japanese government was still assessing damages from the tsunami and late-evening quake, which struck at about 11:15 p.m. in the Pacific Ocean, around 80 kilometres (50 miles) off the coast of Aomori, the northernmost prefecture of Japan’s main Honshu island.

“I’ve never experienced such a big shaking,” convenience store owner Nobuo Yamada told the public broadcaster NHK in the Aomori prefecture town of Hachinohe, adding that “luckily” power lines were still operating in his area.

A tsunami of up to 70 centimetres (2 feet, 4 inches) was measured in Kuji port in Iwate prefecture, just south of Aomori, and tsunami levels of up to 50 centimeters struck other coastal communities in the region, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said 23 people were injured, including one seriously.

Most of them were hit by falling objects, NHK reported, adding that several people were injured in a hotel in Hachinohe and a man in Tohoku was slightly hurt when his car fell into a hole.

The meteorological agency reported the quake’s magnitude as 7.5, down from its earlier estimate of 7.6. It issued an alert for potential tsunami surges of up to 3 meters (10 feet) in some areas and later downgraded to an advisory.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara urged residents to go to higher ground or seek shelter until advisories were lifted. He said about 800 homes were without electricity, and that the Shinkansen bullet trains and some local lines were suspended in parts of the region.

Nuclear power plants in the region were conducting safety checks, Kihara said. The Nuclear Regulation Authority said about 450 litres (118 gallons) of water spilled from a spent fuel cooling area at the Rokkasho fuel reprocessing plant in Aomori, but that its water level remained within the normal range and there was no safety concern.

About 480 residents were taking shelter at the Hachinohe Air Base, and 18 defence helicopters were mobilized for a damage assessment, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said.

About 200 passengers were stranded for the night at New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido, NHK reported.

The meteorological agency issued a caution about possible aftershocks in the coming days.

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