First Major Earthquake Since 2011

Almost ten years since the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, the area experienced another major earthquake. At around 11:07 pm on February 13th, there was an earthquake that had a magnitude of 7.3. Nakadori and Hamadori in Fukushima Prefecture which is south of Miyagi Prefecture were hit the hardest.

The earthquake injured over 30 people. Fires, rockfalls, and broken wires in apartment buildings, and large-scale power outages have occurred in some places in the Tohoku and Kanto regions. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, it seems to be an aftershock of the Great East Japan Earthquake 10 years ago. They advise that we should all be careful about earthquakes with a seismic intensity of 6 or higher.

Additionally, both Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures have set up disaster response headquarters and are constantly checking the situation.

Roads and Trains will be Delayed

According to the East Nippon Expressway, the Tohoku Expressway and Joban Expressway have been closed. This is because of landslides and road damage. Regarding trains, JR East, the Tohoku, Joetsu, Hokuriku, and Tokaido Shinkansen will be temporarily suspended due to power outages in some sections. Power outages were also experienced by at least 850,000 houses throughout the Tohoku, Kanto, and Tokai regions.

NHK news stated reported that Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide spoke to reporters at the prime minister’s office at around 2:00 a.m. He said, “There is no danger of a tsunami…. there have been no reports of abnormalities at nuclear power plants.”

If you are in Miyagi and feeling unsafe, please remember there is help available.