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IWAKI, Japan: The stench of alcohol filled the small bar on Sunday (February 14) as Aoi Hoshino swept the glass from whiskey bottles that were smashed in a strong earthquake the night before, one that appeared to be a replica of a devastating earthquake that hit Fukushima. area in 2011.
The magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck shortly before midnight Saturday, cracking walls, breaking windows and causing a landslide in Fukushima, the area closest to the epicenter. More than 100 people were injured.
Hoshino, 46, swept up broken glass from about 20 broken whiskey bottles into a garbage bag at his bar on a side street in the city of Iwaki, approximately 200 kilometers north of Tokyo and not far from the epicenter of the earthquake.
READ: Strong earthquake hits the coast of Japan, causing blackouts
“We were hit by this coronavirus pandemic, so we were eager to reopen our stores, and now this happens,” he said, referring to a locally declared state of emergency that had closed his bar since January and was ready to lift. Monday.
“It’s just one thing after another.”
The Japan Meteorological Agency said the earthquake was believed to be a replica of the 9.0 magnitude earthquake on March 11, 2011 that triggered a tsunami, killing nearly 20,000 people across a wide swath of northeast Japan, and the accident Fukushima nuclear power station, the worst in the world. in 25 years. The agency warned of aftershocks for several days.
Hoshino said the earthquake on Saturday brought back dire memories.
“My body reacted immediately and I couldn’t stop shaking. My legs were shaking too, but I couldn’t measure whether it was safer to run out or stay inside, so I ended up doing a weird little dance,” he said. with a laugh.
At least 121 people were injured, NHK national television said, including several who suffered fractures, but no deaths were reported.
LEE: Trains stopped, dozens injured while Japan cleans up after the strong earthquake in Fukushima
BUILDINGS ALSO IN TOKYO
The local earthquake at 11:08 pm shook buildings in the Japanese capital Tokyo, cutting power to hundreds of thousands of buildings in eastern and northeastern Japan. However, in the morning, power was restored for virtually everyone.
Several thousand homes were left without water, forcing residents to line up with plastic jugs to get water from trucks.
Although much of Iwaki appeared as usual, shingles had fallen from the front of at least one building, and the sound of broken glass being swept away echoed through various shops and restaurants.
A small crack had opened in the wall of Noboru Endo’s hair salon, in the same place a wider one opened 10 years ago, but otherwise there was little damage.
Endo, 64, said Saturday’s earthquake was no match for the 2011 earthquake, which lasted for several minutes and had aftershocks lasting for weeks.
“Most of us have come back to life as usual, except for some areas that are still badly affected,” he said of reconstruction efforts in the area.
There were no tsunami or reports of irregularities at any nuclear power plant. NHK reported that around 160 ml (5 ounces) of water had leaked from a pool of spent fuel in the Fukushima Dai-Ni reactor, but that this did not pose any danger.
Shinkansen bullet train service to much of northern Japan was suspended due to track damage. Service on one line was not expected to be restored until at least Tuesday.
Brewers such as Asahi Group Holdings and Kirin Holdings, which have factories in Fukushima and Sendai, said they were evaluating the impact at their facilities. Kirin said its Sendai plant was slightly damaged and it was still reviewing the situation.
The power outages did not affect any of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines that arrived on Friday for vaccines that will begin this week, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said at a news conference Sunday morning.
Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the most seismically active areas in the world, and Japan accounts for about 20 percent of the world’s earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.
