Japan Earthquake: Bullet trains SUSPENDED after major Tsunami WARNING

Japan earthquake: Following a strong earthquake of 7.5 magnitude on the Richter Scale, the services on the Tohoku Shinkansen bullet train line have been suspended in central, eastern Japan on Monday. Earlier in the day, Japan issued tsunami alerts after a series of strong quakes on Jan 1, 2024. The Japan Meterological Agency reported quakes off the coast of Ishikawa and nearby prefectures shortly after 4 p.m. Taking to Twitter, PM's Office of Japan has issued instructions for the officials. 

• Provide timely and accurate information to the public regarding the tsunami, evacuation, etc., and take thorough measures to prevent damage, such as the evacuation of residents, Japan PM's office wrote on X (formerly Twitter). 
• Assess the state of affairs regarding damage as soon as possible.
• Act in close coordination with local governments and, under the principle of prioritizing human life above all else, spare no effort in our emergency disaster responses, including saving lives and rescuing disaster victims, with the Government working as one.

Meanwhile, Japanese public broadcaster NHK TV warned torrents of water could reach as high as 5 metres (16.5 feet) and urged people to flee to high land or a top of a nearby building as quickly as possible. 

NHK said the tsunami waves could keep returning, and warnings were continuing to be aired nearly an hour after the initial alert. The government was set to hold a news conference later in the day. Reports of damage were not immediately available.

A tsunami of about 3 metres high was expected to hit Niigata and other prefectures on the western coast of Japan. Smaller tsunami waves were already confirmed to have reached the coastline, according to NHK. The area includes a nuclear plant. Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator, said it was checking for problems but there were no immediate reports of any irregularities.

For the unversed, Japan is an extremely quake-prone nation. In March 2011, a major quake and tsunami caused meltdowns at a nuclear plant.