A powerful 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck the eastern coast of Japan’s main island of Honshu early Tuesday, triggering tsunami warnings and prompting thousands of people to evacuate from the region.
The quake struck at a depth of 43 kilometers (27 miles) off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture at a time when many Japanese were beginning their morning commutes. Several strong aftershocks followed, with the US Geological Survey (USGS) issuing warnings up to 5.7 in magnitude.
The Japan Meteorological Agency initially warned of a tsunami of up to two meters in height but later lowered the forecast to one meter. Local media reported that a somewhat lowered tsunami was observed on the southern coastline of Fukushima Prefecture, but the waves had largely subsided within two hours.
With the epicenter of the quake located on an active fault line, initial fears of a much larger tsunami, such as the one that struck in 2011, abounded. That disaster resulted in the meltdown of three Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant reactors killed nearly 16,000 people and displaced half a million more.
The Japanese government urged calm while Nuclear Regulation Authority urged operators of all nuclear power plants in the region to take special caution in monitoring seismic and water activity.
All forms of transportation in the region, including trains and flights, were temporarily suspended out of an abundance of caution. Thankfully, at the time of this writing, no major damage or casualties have been reported.
Tuesday offered yet another reminder that the Japanese people, along with the rest of the world, can only find solace in preparation before mother nature unleashes her wrath.