Japanese People Anxious After Magnitude 6.9 Earthquake... Urging Caution Searching 'Tsunami Warning' on SNS

On this day, an office in Miyagi Prefecture, where a magnitude 5 earthquake occurred, was shaking violently.
Photo by SNS capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] A magnitude 6.9 strong earthquake struck the Tohoku region of Japan, including Miyagi Prefecture. Following this earthquake, the Japanese government issued a tsunami advisory, causing anxiety among Japanese netizens.

On the 20th, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) reported that a magnitude 6.9 earthquake occurred off the coast of Miyagi Prefecture in the afternoon. This earthquake, similar in scale to last month's Fukushima earthquake, appeared just over a month later.

Due to this earthquake, a seismic intensity of lower 5 (shindo 5-strong) was observed in Sendai City and Ishinomaki City in Miyagi Prefecture, where buildings suffered damage such as wall cracks. Some areas in Fukushima and Iwate Prefectures also experienced shaking of intensity 5 or higher for several minutes. In the metropolitan area of Tokyo, a seismic intensity of 3 was recorded.

A seismic intensity of lower 5 means most people find it difficult to walk without holding onto something. Because of this earthquake, the Japanese government issued a tsunami advisory. Although the epicenter was 60 km deep underwater, the location was close to land.

On this day, the term 'tsunami warning' continuously ranked first in SNS search terms in Japan.
/Photo by Daily Sports, a local Japanese media outlet

The tsunami advisory has since been lifted, but Japanese netizens remain uneasy.

As news of the earthquake spread, the term "tsunami advisory (津波注意報)" ranked first in search terms on social networking services (SNS) in Japan, with over 220,000 searches.

Netizens warned, "People in Miyagi Prefecture, a 1-meter tsunami advisory has been issued. Even a 1-meter tsunami can be life-threatening, so please evacuate if you think a tsunami is coming," "A tsunami at a height of 40 cm can deliver a force strong enough to knock a person off their feet," and "Even a tsunami below knee height can have a terrifying power to sweep away people and objects."

Due to the ongoing strong earthquakes, Japanese netizens appealed for efforts to compensate for and prevent earthquake damage rather than focusing on hosting the Olympics.
/Photo by SNS capture

Some expressed concerns related to the Tokyo Olympics scheduled for July. One Japanese netizen said, "Not only earthquakes and typhoons, but also heavy rains and the eruption of Mount Fuji are worrisome. It is even more concerning if these occur during the Olympics." Another netizen urged, "Please use all Olympic funds for disaster recovery and immediately halt Olympic preparations."

With the recent continuous strong earthquakes in Japan, the Japanese people are struggling to shake off their anxiety. On the 13th of last month, a magnitude 7.3 earthquake occurred off the coast south of Miyagi, near Fukushima, resulting in one death and about 150 injuries.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.