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At least 4 people were killed and more than 100 injured after a powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake hit eastern Japan on late Wednesday. The local disaster prevention office also confirmed that dozens of people were injured and a 60-years old man resident of Soma city died.

The recent earthquake badly affected the eastern Fukushima province off the coast of Japan and cut power to millions of homes. A powerful quake and tsunami destroyed the region 11 years ago and badly wrecked a nuclear power plant.

The earthquake on Wednesday was actually recorded 7.3-magnitude but was enhanced to 7.4-magnitude on Thursday. The government also issued a tsunami warning for the coastal areas of Miyagi and Fukushima after Wednesday’s earthquake. But the warning was pulled back on Thursday morning.

Fumio Kishida confirms Safety at Nuclear Plants

The Prime Minister of Japan Fumio Kishida also said there were no abnormalities found at any nuclear plant in the country. The Meteorological Agency said the preliminary epicenter depth of the quake was measured at 37 miles (60 kilometers). 

Kishida said a bullet train also derailed near Fukushima after the earthquake but fortunately no injuries were reported after this incident. The agency also warned about expected tsunami waves could reach up to 1 meter above normal flowing levels. 

However, the initially expected waves reached beaches around midnight at 11 am ET local time. An 8-inch tsunami happened ahead of the coastline of Miyagi province of Japan after one hour of the earthquake.

Earthquake derailed A Bullet Train

The Meteorological Agency also urged people to stay away from the coast in the affected regions. A broadcaster NHK reported that 78 people were trapped for at least 4 hours after a high-speed train drifted. 

Kyodo News agency reported that people escaped without major injuries using an emergency exit. All injured people from the earthquake were shifted to the hospital in Soma city of Fukushima province.

However, the news agency reported without mentioning the exact number of injured people. Tokyo Electric Power also issued a statement and said the company has restored power in all of Tokyo. 

The Meteorological Agency urged people on Thursday that the public should watch out for more aftershock activities during the next couple of days. An official from the agency, Masaki Nakamura, also issued an advisory. 

He said people must stay away from the coast in affected areas. They should avoid entering the sea until the end of tsunami advisories. He also advised people to keep calm and remain attentive over the risks of mudslides.

Previous Strong Earthquake in Japan

It is important that the epicenter of the recent earthquake was estimated at around 89 kilometers (55 miles) from the 2011 earthquake. The earthquake in 2011 heavily devastated and generated a tsunami with 30-foot waves. 

These massive waves badly affected various nuclear reactors in the region. It also resulted in the terrible nuclear disaster since the Chernobyl incident in 1986. Keep in mind that at least 22,000 people had lost their lives or went missing in that disaster. The radiation leak caused deaths with the initial earthquake, tsunami, and critical health conditions after the disaster. 

Point to be noted that Japan experienced around 9.1-magnitude earthquake in 2011. It was at least 62 times more powerful and released around 500 times more energy compared to the quake on Wednesday.