Japan on high alert for second mega quake after lifting tsunami warning

TOKYO — Japan has warned of a potential earthquake in the next week following the 7.7 magnitude quake that struck off the north-east coast on Monday, triggering an evacuation order and warnings of 3m (10ft) tsunami waves. Officials say there is an increased probability of a mega quake along two deep-sea trenches in the Pacific Ocean. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) has issued an alert asking residents in seven prefectures should prepare for disaster and listen for any updates. The alert covers 182 municipalities in the prefectures of Hokkaido, Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima, Ibaraki, and Chiba. People in those areas should follow the advisory until 5 p.m. next Monday, April 27. It does not call for advance evacuation. Officials urge people to keep emergency evacuation kits on hand, secure home furniture, and confirm backup food, water and portable toilets. In addition, they urged people to seek correct information and always refrain from spreading fake news. Thousands of people were told to leave coastal areas for higher ground after the quake in waters off Iwate prefecture, 530km north of the capital Tokyo, on Monday. The biggest tsunami waves measured 80cm. Tsunami warnings and advisories were lifted hours after the quake. But Japan’s meteorological agency has warned that quakes “causing even stronger shaking” could occur in the next week, producing bigger waves. Authorities said the risk of a quake measuring 8.0 magnitude or higher was “relatively higher than during normal times”. People in Japan are still scarred by memories of a huge quake in 2011 that triggered a tsunami which killed more than 18,000 people and caused a meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant. After Monday’s undersea quake, recorded at a depth of 10km, warnings of possible bigger waves were issued to residents in areas nearest the epicentre — in Japan’s main island, Honshu, and the northern region of Hokkaido.Tremors were felt as far away as Tokyo. In Hokkaido tsunami alerts remained in place hours after thequake struck at 16:52 local time (08:52 BST). A number of bullet trains were affected, and 100 homes were without power, Japan’s Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told reporters. He said there were no immediate reports of major damage or injuries. Train services resumed on Monday night. More than 170,000 people across several prefectures were ordered to evacuate after tsunami warnings were issued across parts of Japan’s east coast. The warning was the second-highest of three levels of alert, with people being told to leave coastal and riverside areas and move to higher ground or an evacuation building. It was later downgraded to a tsunami alert, before being removed entirely shortly before midnight local time. Japan’s precarious location on the Ring of Fire means it experiences about 1,500 earthquakes a year, and accounts for 10% of quakes measuring 6.0 magnitude or higher worldwide. In March 2011, Japan was hit by the devastating 9.0-magnitude earthquake off the coast to the south of Iwate province, the most powerful earthquake it had ever recorded. — Agencies