Deaths, blackouts and evacuations follow earthquake off coast of Japan

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A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6 struck an area off the west coast of Japan on Monday, killing at least four people and triggering tsunami warnings, widespread blackouts and evacuations during new year celebrations.

The Japan Meteorological Agency initially issued a major tsunami warning for Ishikawa prefecture in central Japan, the highest level of alert issued since the devastating tsunami in 2011 that disabled the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Other lower-level warnings were issued for neighbouring coastal prefectures in Niigata and Toyama and waves of about 1 metre were observed on parts of the Sea of Japan coast. The highest-level alert was downgraded a few hours later.

The earthquake, which was also felt in Tokyo, affected several nuclear power plants in the region, including Tokyo Electric Power’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa facility in Niigata prefecture. But an official at Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority said it had not detected any abnormalities in radioactivity levels at the plants.

The initial quake, which hit the Noto region of Ishikawa shortly after 4pm local time, was followed by a series of powerful aftershocks. Japan’s meteorological agency warned of more big shocks in the coming days.

According to the National Police Agency, at least two people died in Nanao city in Ishikawa prefecture as a result of the earthquake, although it did not provide further details. Early on Tuesday the local government confirmed the deaths of four people, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported.

Chief cabinet secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said people remained trapped in at least six damaged homes.

Japan is prone to earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions. In 2011, an 8.9 magnitude earthquake in Tohoku in northeastern Japan caused a huge tsunami that killed almost 20,000 people.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told…