An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6 struck Ishikawa Prefecture todayon the west coast of central Japan, and forced its activation a tsunami alert in much of the archipelago, in addition to causing significant damage and leaving at least six people buried under the rubble.

The earthquake, which was felt as far away as Tokyo, struck the Noto Peninsula at 4:10 PM (7:10 GMT) and the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) initially estimated the quake had measured 7.4 degrees on the Richter scale. he later revised the size upward by two tenths.

Similarly, the agency initially said the quake occurred close to the ground and later placed the hypocenter at a depth of 10 miles (16 kilometers).

The earthquake reached a magnitude of 7 on Japan’s closed scale of 7, which focuses on the destructive potential of the tremors rather than their intensity.

Wajima, the most affected city

Images broadcast on Japanese television or on social networks showed the magnitude of the quake and its destructive power, especially in the city of Wajima (about 500 kilometers west of Tokyo), where the most severe damage was apparently recorded.

In this city of about 27,000 residents, at least 30 single-family homes suffered serious damage, leaving at least six people buried under rubble and one building collapsed.

The earthquake also caused a major fire in this city.

Nearly 60 aftershocks from the earthquake had been recorded as of 9:00 pm local time (12:00 GMT) and the JMA has warned that more tremors reaching Japan’s level 7 are very likely in the coming week.

The earthquake also damaged roads and highways in the region and forced the temporary halt of the movement of several high-speed lines.

More than 30,000 homes without electricity have been reported in Ishikawa and another 3,600 in neighboring Niigata in the same situation, although Japanese authorities have said at least no damage has been found at the country’s nuclear power plants.

Warn of possible waves up to five meters

The earthquake in turn triggered the alert for the possible arrival of waves up to five meters high in Ishikawa Prefecture and for waves up to three meters in Fukui, Toyama, Hyogo, Niigata and Yamagata Prefectures.

A warning for tsunamis up to one meter high was also introduced for the entire west coast of the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido and the north of the island of Kyushu.

The intensity of the earthquake and the severity of the alarm almost forced the presenters of Japan’s public television channel NHK to shout at those nearby to move to higher ground.

In Wajima, waves reached heights of 1.2 meters, and other cities along Japan’s west coast reported sea levels had risen below one meter.

Even authorities in neighboring South Korea reported that the coast of Gangwon Province, which faces the Sea of ​​Japan (called the East Sea in both Koreas), received waves of between 8 and 18 inches.

Fortunately, the water did not cause any damage in either Japan or South Korea, although the JMA alarm is expected to remain activated for several hours.

For now, the agency has decided to lower only the alert that hit Ishikawa, where possible waves of up to three meters instead of five are now expected.