Ishikawa (Japan  Times): A magnitude 6.5 earthquake, which measured a strong 6 on the shindo (intensity) scale, jolted Ishikawa Prefecture on Friday afternoon, killing one and leaving at least 22 others injured.

There was no tsunami, but the Meteorological Agency said it confirmed sea level changes of around 10 centimeters in the prefecture. 

On Friday evening, a magnitude 5.8 aftershock, which measured a strong 5 on the Japanese scale, also hit the area. The initial jolt was the largest among a series of quakes that have been hitting the Noto area since December 2020.

Local police in the city of Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture — near the initial quake’s epicenter — were responding to reports of injuries and collapsed buildings, NHK reported. One man who fell off a ladder was confirmed to have been killed, while the fire department in Suzu said that three houses had collapsed and that two people who had been trapped in two of the structures had been rescued, the broadcaster said.

The initial quake struck at 2:42 p.m. on the northern tip of Ishikawa Prefecture’s Noto Peninsula on the Sea of Japan coast, located about 300 kilometers northwest of Tokyo.  The quake occurred at a depth of 12 kilometers. 

Strong 6, which was recorded in the city of Suzu, is the second-highest level on Japan’s intensity scale. The level of shaking can make it “impossible to remain standing or move without crawling,” the Meteorological Agency says. 

A man in his 30s said earlier in the day that his two-story house in Suzu was partially destroyed, although no one inside was injured. He said he was sorting through valuables as he can no longer live in the house.
“After swaying heavily sideways, there was a strong jolt in the end. I was terrified,” a 63-year-old priest of a Shinto shrine said in a phone interview. He also said two stone lanterns in front of his house collapsed.

In an emergency news conference on Friday afternoon, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said the government was working to respond to the quake. 

“We will continue to assess the extent of the damage and, in close cooperation with local authorities, will do our best to implement emergency-disaster measures,” Matsuno said.

He said there have been no reports of damage to electricity, gas and water supply services.

The quake led to the suspension of some train lines, including the Hokuriku Shinkansen between Nagano and Kanazawa stations, West Japan Railway said. The shinkansen later resumed service. 

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings reported no damage at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in Niigata Prefecture, while Hokuriku Electric Power reported no problems at the Shika nuclear power plant in Ishikawa Prefecture.

The weather agency warned of the possibility of quakes of around strong 6 occurring over the next week.