While Ishikawa, in central Japan, is still rebuilding from the devastation inflicted by a strong earthquake on January 1, there was another earthquake early on Monday, though this one did not do any significant damage.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said that a magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck the northern tip of the Noto Peninsula, followed shortly after by a 4.8 and several lesser ones during the next two hours. A tsunami did not occur.
Ishikawa prefecture reports that five houses in Wajiima city that had been damaged in the Jan. 1 earthquake collapsed, but no significant damage or injuries that would have required medical attention were reported. A woman in her 60s was startled when she heard an earthquake alert in the town of Tsubata, some 100 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of the epicenter. However, prefectural officials stated that the woman’s injuries was not life-threatening.
According to JMA seismology and tsunami expert Satoshi Harada, the earthquakes on Monday are thought to be aftershocks of the January 1 magnitude 7.6 earthquake. Although there has been a minor decrease in seismic activity, Harada advised people to exercise caution, particularly in areas near buildings that were previously destroyed.
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According to West Japan Railway Co., most of the Shinkansen super-express trains and other train services have resumed after being momentarily halted for safety inspections.
Two adjacent nuclear power facilities were judged to be normal, according to the Nuclear Regulation Authority. A small damage occurred at the Shika facility on the Noto Peninsula, but officials claimed it had no effect on the two reactors’ ability to cool.
According to Hokuriku Electric Power Co., there were no blackouts.
The shaking noises on Monday made the inhabitants, who are still trying to recuperate from the damage caused by the earthquake in January, fearful again. Many residents who emerged from their houses and makeshift shelters to check for further damage were shown on NHK public television.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi stated, “Many people who have been living at evacuation centers must have been frightened,” and advised vigilance against possible falling rocks and landslides in places that were rattled violently.
In the peninsula’s hilly regions, reconstruction proceeds slowly, and many of the damaged homes remain unaltered.
An inn operator in Wajima, one of the hardest-hit locations, told NHK that he hid under the reception desk as soon as the first earthquake occurred on Monday. Though nothing collapsed or fell to the ground, it brought up memories of the January tremors and worried him that a significant earthquake had happened even though it was only five months later.
According to the FDMA, 260 individuals were killed in the Jan. 1 earthquake, including those who passed away subsequently from stress-related diseases, injuries, and other causes. Three more victims are currently unaccounted for. Over 3,300 households are currently on evacuation orders due to the ongoing damage.