A new three-metre high tsunami is rolling toward the disaster-shattered north-east coast of Japan, with authorities warning it would strike within minutes.
Residents are being ordered to higher ground and sirens are sounding in the town of Soma.
Long road . . . victims walk through the obliterated town of Minami Sanriku. Photo: AP/Kyodo News
Long road . . . victims walk through the obliterated town of Minami Sanriku. Photo: AP/Kyodo NewsMeanwhile, there has been another explosion at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant, live TV reports.
The wave was spotted from a fire department helicopter off Fukushima prefecture, TV reports say, while public broadcaster NHK said about 11.20am (1.20pm AEDT) that it was expected to reach the coast within 15 minutes.
The sea was seen retreating off Iwate prefecture in the north-east of Honshu island, a phenomenon that occurs before the massive waves hit.
Officials check for radiation on people who lived near a nuclear plant. Photo: Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Officials check for radiation on people who lived near a nuclear plant. Photo: Reuters/Kim Kyung-HoonThe tsunami comes after another quake – one of many aftershocks since Friday’s massive 9 quake. This one had a 5.8-magnitude, said the US Geological Survey, and struck at a depth of 18 kilometres off Ibaraki prefecture, shaking tall buildings in Japan’s capital.
The latest developments come as authorities battle to contain a nuclear crisis. More: article source
Hundreds flee in Japan after Shinmoedake volcano begins spewing ash, boulders
Earthquake, tsunami, nuclear plant meltdowns — as if the people of Japan didn’t have enough to cope with, a volcano began erupting Sunday.
Hundreds of people were forced to flee when the Shinmoedake volcano on the southern island of Kyushu began spewing ash and boulders.
The explosion from the eruption could be heard miles away and an ash plume extended two miles into the sky.
Shinmoedake, one of several volcanic peaks in the Kirishima mountain range, is 950 miles from the epicenter of
Friday’s earthquake and scientists weren’t sure if the quake triggered the eruption.
Eruptions and quakes are common in Japan’s “ring of fire.”
The volcano erupted in January – the first major seismic activity on the mountain in 52 years. Scientists say lava had been building up in recent weeks. Article Source