A massive earthquake measuring 8.8 in magnitude off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula has prompted Japan to suspend the operation of nuclear plants along the Pacific coasts amid concerns about a repeat of the 2011 Fukushima disaster. Tsunami warnings were issued across wide areas of Japan following the undersea quake, which struck in the early hours of Wednesday morning local time.
The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said waves as high as 60cm had already been detected at multiple points from Hokkaido down to Tokyo Bay — but warned that larger waves could strike later. Some experts said surges of up to three metres were still possible. As sirens wailed across coastal towns, officials rushed to evacuate residents, with more than 2 million people placed under advisories in over 220 municipalities.
Ferry services and local rail lines were suspended. Sendai Airport closed its runway.
The sheer scale of the response stirred chilling memories of March 2011, when a 9.0-magnitude quake off the northeast coast triggered a towering tsunami and led to one of the worst nuclear disasters in history.
At the heart of current fears is the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant — still a site of international scrutiny more than a decade later. Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO), which operates the facility, confirmed that around 4,000 workers had taken shelter on higher ground.
The release of treated radioactive water into the Pacific was halted, and monitoring teams were put on high alert.
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