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The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) yesterday lifted a warning for a possible “extremely large earthquake” along the Pacific coast of the western half of the country, which had been in effect a week ago when an earthquake struck southwestern Japan.
Japanese authorities decided last Thursday to sound the alert for a possible magnitude 8 or 9 earthquake in the Nankai Trough, a seismically active area submerged in waters southwest of Japan.
The JMA issued the alert after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck the south of the country, injuring 15 people and destroying more than a dozen houses.
The warning is based on expert advice and estimates that the probability of an earthquake of this magnitude occurring in the next three decades is between 70 and 80 percent, a phenomenon that would have catastrophic consequences for the country. According to official calculations, such an event could cause more than 300,000 victims.
According to EFE, the Japan Meteorological Agency took into account statistical data showing that the possibility of a strong earthquake will increase after an earthquake of magnitude 7 or above occurs in the area near the Nankai Trench.
Under the warning, the government asked more than 700 municipalities in 29 prefectures across the country, from Okinawa in the southwest to Tokyo in the central region, to review their preparedness measures for possible major disasters.
People are also advised to update their earthquake plans, including checking the location of the nearest evacuation facilities.
But the alert, the first since the system was launched in 2017, was criticized by some experts as an excessive and alarmist measure given the difficulty of accurately predicting earthquakes and the economic and even psychological impacts they can have on the country and its people.
Take a step back
The alert was lifted yesterday, hours after the minister in charge of managing natural disasters announced that Japan would lift its major earthquake alert if there were no major changes in seismic activity.
Yoshifumi Matsumura announced yesterday that “if no special changes in seismic activity or crustal deformation are observed by 5 p.m. today, the government will suspend the special alert.” The government official assured that the government will continue to respond “with a sense of urgency.”
“The public is asked to be aware that the possibility of a major earthquake has not been eliminated and to regularly check earthquake prevention measures in order to be prepared for the expected major earthquake,” the minister added.
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