A powerful earthquake in Japan killed 4 people and injured more than 100 people

Although the initial tsunami warning was lifted this Thursday, a powerful 7.4 earthquake in eastern Japan killed 4 people and injured more than 100 people.

Wednesday night tremors collapsed parts of houses, cracked roads and derailed trains. Fortunately, there were no casualties.

The damage seems relatively minimal compared to the force of earthquakes that mainly affected Fukushima and Miyagi departments in northeastern Japan.

A spokesman for the government Hirokazu Matsuno said on Thursday that four people were killed and 107 others were injured.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), the earthquake occurred on Wednesday at 23h36 (14h36 GMT) and was 7.4 magnitude (initially reassessed against 7.3).

The epicenter was located 60 km deep below the Pacific Ocean on the coast of Fukushima, and the nuclear power plant was destroyed by a tsunami in 2011.

JMA issued a warning about waves up to 1 meter high, but eventually asked residents to move away from the coast, saying that waves of 30 cm were recorded in Ishinomaki (Miyagi Prefecture), Miyagi Prefecture.

The tsunami warning was lifted on Thursday morning.

Matsuno urged people to watch for more tremors overnight. “Police and rescue services received many calls from Fukushima and Miyagi,” he said.

Small aftershocks were also recorded overnight, and evacuation orders were issued at shelters in some areas.

Yuzuru Kobashi, 82 years old, told AFP that he came with his wife to collect tarpaulin to protect the house affected by the earthquake at an evacuation center in Soma City, Fukushima, where dozens of residents were evacuated.

“But since I can't climb the roof at my age, I will use the things I cherish at home to protect them from the rain,” he said.

- Train derailment -

In Ishinomaki, a lifeguard explained to AFP that he woke up with “extremely violent tremors.”

“I heard the earth ringing. Instead of feeling fear, I remembered the 2011 earthquake.” He added.

The tremors that were also felt strongly in Tokyo, according to Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), initially left 2 million households in the capital and surrounding departments without electricity, but after a few hours the electricity was completely restored.

According to Tohoku Electric Power, about 2,500 households were still out of power in the northeast on Thursday.

JR East Railway Company reported network interruption.Japan's high-speed train “Shinkansen” derailed north of Fukushima City, and 78 people were on board, but there were no injuries.

In Sendai City (northeast), a wall collapsed on the site of the historic Aoba Castle.

Last Friday, Japan observed a brief silence in commemoration of the earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011.

Due to this disaster, more than 18,500 people were killed and missing, mainly due to the tsunami, and more than 165,000 people in Fukushima Prefecture were forced to evacuate their homes for radioactive emissions.