British nationals in Japan have shared their reactions after a series of earthquakes struck the country (Picture: Supplied/AFP/Reuters)
British nationals in Japan have spoken of the ‘scary’ moment when the New Year’s Day earthquakes shook their homes.
A major tsunami warning was triggered by the seismic waves which hit the Ishikawa and Noto regions on the western coast earlier today.
The most powerful earthquake had a 7.6 magnitude, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency, with more than 80 aftershocks since being felt across the country.
The tsunami warning was later downgraded to a less serious level but more than 36,000 households in the Ishikawa and Toyama prefectures have been left without power and strong tremors are expected for the next two to three days.
Gary Ross, who moved to Japan from Surrey in the mid-90s, was at home with his wife Hisako Zenko in Ishikawa’s capital city Kanazawa when the earthquakes hit shortly after 7am UK time.
Mr Ross, 56, an associate professor at Kanazawa University, told Metro.co.uk that while it was a ‘frightening’ experience his thoughts are with others living nearer the epicenter to the north.
‘We live in a hundred-year-old wooden Japanese house and at four o’clock in the evening the house started to shake,’ he said.
‘At first we thought it might be the small type of earthquake we get here two or three times a year. I was about to ask my wife if she noticed the earthquake when a much bigger one struck.
‘I’ve been here for about 20 years and I have never experienced anything like this, it was probably only half a minute but it felt much longer, the whole house was shaking. While it was frightening there was no major damage to the house apart from a couple of shelves falling down.
Gary Ross was at home with his wife Hisako Zenko when the earthquakes struck Japan on New Year’s Day (Picture: Gary Ross)
‘The phones around us then immediately began sending alarms telling us to go to high ground. There was a real fear to begin with that there would be a major tsunami to follow but fortunately there doesn’t seem to have been anything on a major scale.
‘While I think it was the biggest earthquake to hit Japan since 2011, we are lucky in Kanazawa because we are two hours from the epicenter in the Noto peninsular to the north, where it must have been terrifying.
‘On the Japanese Scale of one to seven, which basically means “how it feels where you are”, it was a five here, which is scary but not devastating.
‘In Noto it was seven, which means we can expect major damage and sadly I have heard that there has been loss of life.’
People stand next to large cracks in the pavement after earthquakes struck the city of Wajima in Ishikawa (Picture: Yusuke Fukuhara/Yomiuri Shimbun/AFP)
A fire burns at a residential area in Wajima after a series of earthquakes struck Japan’s north-western coast on New Year’s Day (Picture: via Reuters)
A car drives past a badly damaged pavement in Wajima, a city in the Ishikawa prefecture (Picture: Yusuke Fukuhara/Yomiuri Shimbun/AFP)
People take cover at the Universal Studios theme park in Osaka, Japan, as a series of earthquakes strike the country (Picture: AP)
Tim Bailey, an exchange teacher from Nottingham who is based in Kanazawa with an international programme, was visiting his homestay family in Tokyo at the time the earthquakes struck.
Tim, 27, who has been in Japan for five months, felt the tremors pass through his hosts’ home, which lies around 450km to the east of the prefecture where he works at a senior high school.
‘I was eating dinner and saw my hosts were watching a TV report about the earthquake, which affected my region,’ he said.
‘We could see in the report how it was spreading out, with Ishikawa being among the regions that were lighting up in red.
Tim Bailey was in Tokyo when the earthquakes struck and now faces an uncertain journey back to Kanazawa 450km to the west (Picture: Tim Bailey)
‘We said “oh, it’s coming”, and as it reached Tokyo the building swayed from side to side but it was only a minor bit of movement.
‘I was due to leave today until the earthquake struck, which means the bullet train I had meant to return on has stopped and there is a crack on the runway at the nearby airport, so there are no flights either.
‘Some of the families and my colleagues at my school have been much more badly affected than me; one of my colleagues is evacuating her home in Hakusan city, which is nearer to the coast than Kanazawa and in much more danger, although she is very calm about the situation.’
Firefighters said earlier this afternoon that they were dealing with 30 collapsed buildings in Ishikawa. Roads in the worst-hit regions have also been severely damaged by the earthquakes. Two people have been confirmed dead, according to reports by national broadcaster NHK.
Damage at Onohiyoshi Shrine in Kanazawa shows the destructive power of the New Year’s Day earthquakes (Picture: EPA)
‘There’s a mixture of emotions really,’ Tim said. ‘On one hand it’s quite exciting because it’s the first earthquake I have experienced but at the same time I’m dreading going back to my apartment and seeing what damage there might be before going back to school on Thursday.
‘While Japan is generally prepared for earthquakes and I came expecting it to happen the earthquake is the strongest in years, so it has still come as a shock to me and other people in Kanazawa.
‘I am also worried about my students, as the school has a large catchment area, and especially those who live on the coast.
‘At the moment I am just waiting to go home to find out what the damage is and hopefully everyone will be safe and well.’
The threat of a tsunami on the west coast has ‘largely passed’, according to the US-run Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre today. Locals were advised by the government information service to ‘stay alert’ to any updates and following any advice given by the authorities.
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MORE : Moment powerful 7.6-magnitude earthquake rocks Japan sparking tsunami alert
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A British ex-pat has described how his house shook as a series of powerful earthquakes struck Japan.