World
Japan earthquake: Death toll rises to four; tsunami threat wanes
Japan warned that another earthquake of “similar intensity” could hit the country within the next week.
Tokyo: At least four people have been killed while almost 100 sustained injuries after a powerful earthquake hit northeastern Japan— shaking buildings and leaving hundreds of thousands without power.
The magnitude 7.4 quake off the coast of Fukushima derailed a bullet train with some 100 people on board, opened cracks in highways and threw products from shelves in shops.
A 5.6 magnitude aftershock of hit about an hour later shortly before 1 am Thursday.
According to the Tohoku Electric Power Co, the power was restored at most places by the morning, except for about 37,000 homes in the hardest hit Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures.
Japan warned that another earthquake of “similar intensity” could hit the country within the next week.
As per the latest updates, 126 are injured in the powerful earthquake.
The Japan Meteorological Agency upgraded the magnitude of the quake to 7.4 from the initial 7.3, and the depth from 60 kilometers (36 miles) below the sea to 56 kilometers (35 miles).
Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the government would be on high alert for the possibility of further strong tremors over the next two to three days.
The footages showed broken walls of a department store building falling to the ground and shards of windows scattered on the street near the main train station in the inland prefectural capital of Fukushima city.
Roads were cracked and water poured out from pipes underground.
An earlier tsunami warning for the northeast coast was lifted and power had been fully restored to the capital by the early hours of Thursday.
The Fukushima region was devastated by one of the world’s most powerful earthquakes 11 years ago.
Japan sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, an arc of intense seismic activity that stretches through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.
The Asian country is regularly hit by quakes, and has strict construction regulations intended to ensure buildings can withstand strong tremors.
The 2011 earthquake triggered a tsunami and destroyed the Fukushima nuclear plant, sparking a major disaster after radiation leaked from the plant.