TOKYO — Though the area in central Japan's Ishikawa district is still rebuilding from the devastation inflicted by a strong earthquake on January 1, there were earthquakes early on Monday again, causing very little damage.
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, a magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck the northern tip of the Noto Peninsula, minutes later, and many minor earthquakes occurred during the next two hours. A tsunami was not in threat.The Fire and Disaster Management Agency reports that two houses in Wajiima City that had been damaged in the Jan. 1 earthquake collapsed, but no injuries or other damage has been reported as of yet.
According to JMA seismology and tsunami expert Satoshi Harada, the tremors on Monday are thought to be aftershocks of the January 1 magnitude 7.6 earthquake. Although there has been a minor decrease in seismic activity, Harada advised people to exercise caution, particularly in areas near buildings that were previously destroyed.
According to West Japan Railway Co., most of the Shinkansen super-express trains and other train services have resumed after being momentarily halted for safety inspections. Two adjacent nuclear power facilities were judged to be normal, according to the Nuclear Regulation Authority. A small damage occurred at the Shika facility on the Noto Peninsula, but officials claimed it had no effect on the two reactors' ability to cool. According to Hokuriku Electric Power Co., there were no blackouts.
Residents who are still trying to recover from the damages from the New Year's quake were alarmed by the rattlings on Monday. Many residents who emerged from their houses and makeshift shelters to check for further damage were shown on NHK public television.In the peninsula's hilly regions, reconstruction proceeds slowly, and many of the damaged homes remain unaltered.
An inn operator in Wajima, one of the hardest-hit locations, told NHK that he hid under the reception desk as soon as the first earthquake occurred on Monday. Though nothing collapsed or fell to the ground, it brought up memories of the January tremors and worried him that a significant earthquake had happened even though it was only five months later.
