Six injured after powerful quake hits northern Japan

April 21, 2026 / 10:57 AM

Sharjah24 - AFP: At least six people were injured, including two seriously, a day after a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Pacific waters off northern Iwate prefecture, authorities said. Despite the strength of the tremor, which shook buildings as far as Tokyo, there were no reports of major damage or fires at key facilities.

Tsunami waves and warnings lifted

The quake triggered tsunami waves, with an 80-centimetre wave recorded at a port in Kuji, prompting an earlier warning of waves up to three metres. The alert was later lifted after a series of smaller waves hit parts of northern Japan.

Increased risk of stronger quake

The Japan Meteorological Agency warned that the likelihood of a major earthquake of magnitude 8.0 or higher is now greater than usual. More than 182,000 residents were advised to evacuate, though the directives were not mandatory.

Seismic context

Japan, located along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” experiences around 1,500 earthquakes annually, accounting for about 18% of global seismic activity. The country remains deeply affected by the memory of the 2011 magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami, which caused widespread devastation and a nuclear disaster at Fukushima.