As people in affected areas of Japan seek shelter on higher ground amid tsunami warnings, in other parts of the country people are closely following the news.
Japan earthquake news – as it happened: highest-level tsunami warning dropped
This article is more than 4 months old
Buildings collapse, trapping residents, and fires break out but tsunami warning lowered after series of major earthquakes in Japan
Updated
Mon 1 Jan 2024 13.30 EST
First published on Mon 1 Jan 2024 03.19 ESTKey events
- A summary of our coverage from today
- The tsunami warning in Japan has been downgraded to a tsunami advisory
- Summary of the day so far
- One dead following building collapse in Japan: report
- More earthquakes reported in Japan
- Highest-level tsunami warning dropped but residents in coastal areas told not to return to homes
- Summary of the day so far
- Aftershock hits Noto peninsula
- North Korea issues tsunami warning
- Watch footage of Japan's earthquakes
- Six people trapped under rubble in Japan
- Tsunami hits Japanese coast
- No issues detected with nuclear power plant reactors, Japanese authority says
- South Korea issues alert
- Injured patients arrive in hospital as 36,000 households without power in Japan
- Tsunami alert issued in Vladivostok
- Russian authorities say there is no evacuation in Sakhalin
- Injuries reported in Japan
- Russia issues tsunami alert for Sakhalin
- Japanese prime minister calls for evacuation
- 'Major tsunami warnings are currently in effect,' Japanese meteorological agency says
- Earthquakes hit Japan, triggering tsunami warning
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Key events
- A summary of our coverage from today
- The tsunami warning in Japan has been downgraded to a tsunami advisory
- Summary of the day so far
- One dead following building collapse in Japan: report
- More earthquakes reported in Japan
- Highest-level tsunami warning dropped but residents in coastal areas told not to return to homes
- Summary of the day so far
- Aftershock hits Noto peninsula
- North Korea issues tsunami warning
- Watch footage of Japan's earthquakes
- Six people trapped under rubble in Japan
- Tsunami hits Japanese coast
- No issues detected with nuclear power plant reactors, Japanese authority says
- South Korea issues alert
- Injured patients arrive in hospital as 36,000 households without power in Japan
- Tsunami alert issued in Vladivostok
- Russian authorities say there is no evacuation in Sakhalin
- Injuries reported in Japan
- Russia issues tsunami alert for Sakhalin
- Japanese prime minister calls for evacuation
- 'Major tsunami warnings are currently in effect,' Japanese meteorological agency says
- Earthquakes hit Japan, triggering tsunami warning
Aftershock hits Noto peninsula
Gavin Blair
An aftershock of magnitude 5 hit the Noto peninsula at 8.35pm, leading to alerts being issued to residents to beware of already weakened buildings and structures collapsing.
“Major tsunami warnings” for the Noto district were downgraded to “tsunami warnings” at 8.30pm, with tsunami advisories left in place for most of the rest of the Sea of Japan coast.
Tsunami that are expected to be 5 metres or higher trigger major warnings, while those up to 3 metres prompt tsunami warnings, and tsunami advisories are for those up to 1 metre.
The “major tsunami warning” for Noto region has been downgraded to a “tsunami warning”.
North Korea issues tsunami warning
North Korea has issued a tsunami warning for its eastern coast, Reuters reported citing Yonhap.
The Korea Meteorological Administration has said that the massive earthquake that struck earlier in the day caused minor tsunamis in waters off South Korea’s east coast province of Gangwon on Monday evening, the Yonhap news agency reported.
But the administration also said the height of a tsunami could reach a more dangerous level depending on the tide, Yonhap reported.
Gangwon had sent text message warnings to residents in six cities and counties close to the coast urging people to evacuate to higher ground.
Japan’s public broadcaster, NHK, has published footage of damage in parts of the country in the aftermath of the earthquakes.
Tsunami waves have already reached the coast in some areas.
Residents living close to coastal areas and rivers are being urged to evacuate to higher ground. Officials warn that tsunamis could repeatedly hit coastal areas, and that another big earthquake could hit in the coming days.
Here are new images showing damage from Japan’s earthquakes today.
Gavin Blair
Aftershocks continue to strike off the coasts of Ishikawa and Niigata prefectures, with more than 40 tremors of magnitude 3.5 or stronger felt between 4.06pm and 7.05pm.
A Tokyo resident visiting her home city of Takaoka, directly south of the worst-affected Noto Peninsula, told the Guardian:
We’re not that close to the coast so tsunamis are not a worry but the aftershocks just keep coming and shaking the whole house, it’s terrifying.
Large cracks have opened up in roads in the area and in neighbouring Toyama city, with the tyres of some vehicles getting stuck in the cracks, leaving some roads unpassable.
Here is a map of affected areas in Japan.
A major tsunami warning has been issued for Ishikawa prefecture.
There are also warnings in place for Niigata, Toyama, Yamagata, Fukui and Hyogo prefectures.
Map of Japan showing Ishikawa, Toyama and Niigata prefectures.
Watch footage of Japan's earthquakes
Footage circulating on social media showed shaking inside shops and a railway station. NHK TV warned torrents of water could reach as high as 5 metres and urged people to move to high land or to the tops of buildings.
Watch footage here: