Jamaine Punzalan

A general view shows the scene of a fire that broke out after an earthquake in Aomori City on December 9, 2025. Jiji Press, AFP

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="blob:https://od2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com/5bf712a2-bbe9-4360-b9e5-e10722daec52" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">A general view shows the scene of a fire that broke out after an earthquake in Aomori City on December 9, 2025. Jiji Press, AFP </span></span></span></div><p>A big quake off northern Japan left at least 30 injured, authorities said Tuesday, damaging roads and leaving thousands without power in freezing temperatures.</p><p>The Japan Meteorological Agency said the magnitude 7.5 quake at 11:15 pm on Monday (1415 GMT) -- downgraded from 7.6 initially -- raised the chances of similar or larger tremors in the coming days.</p><p>Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said 30 people were injured in the quake off the coast of the Aamori region, which triggered tsunami waves up to 70 centimeters (28 inches) high.</p><p>The injured included one person seriously hurt in the main northern island of Hokkaido, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.</p><p>Footage showed several crevasses in roads and at least one car in a hole, with broken glass from windows scattered on roads and pavements.</p><p>Initially there were reports of several fires. Government spokesman Minoru Kihara said Tuesday that was one confirmed blaze at a house.</p><p>In Hokkaido, an AFP reporter said the ground shook violently for around 30 seconds as smartphone alarms rang to alert residents.</p><p>Daiki Shimohata, 33, a civil servant in Hashikami in the Aomori region on Honshu island, told AFP that he and his family rushed outside their home.</p><p>&quot;The tremor was something that we&#x27;ve never experienced. It lasted maybe for about 20 seconds,&quot; Shimohata said by phone.</p><p>&quot;We were holding our children -- a two-year-old girl and a one-year-old boy -- in our arms. The shaking reminded me of the disaster (in 2011),&quot; he said.</p><p>Some 28,000 people were advised after the quake to evacuate from their homes, emergency services said, and media reports said some makeshift shelters were full.</p><p>With temperatures around freezing point, some 2,700 homes in Aomori were without power, Kyodo News reported in the hours after the quake.</p><p>But by Tuesday morning electricity had been restored to most areas, with fewer than 40 homes still without power, according to utility providers.</p><p>At first the JMA warned of tsunamis up to three meters (10 feet), which could have caused major damage, and thousands of residents were urged to go to safe places.</p><p>In the end the biggest waves recorded measured up to 70 centimeters and after several hours the warnings were lifted.</p><p>Shinkansen bullet-train service was suspended in some areas while engineers checked for any damage to the tracks.</p><p>No abnormalities were detected at the Higashidori nuclear power plant in Aomori or the Onagawa facility in nearby Miyagi, operator Tohoku Electric Power said.</p><p>Takaichi early Tuesday urged residents to be careful.</p><p>&quot;Please listen to information from the JMA or local governments for about a week and check if furniture is fixed .... and be prepared to evacuate when you feel shaking,&quot; she said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/12/04/23/how-to-be-ready-for-quakes-whenever-they-strike">How to be ready for quakes whenever they strike</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>&#x27;MEGAQUAKE&#x27;</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>In 2011, a magnitude-9.0 quake triggered a tsunami that left 18,500 people dead or missing and caused a devastating meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant.</p><p>Japan sits on top of four major tectonic plates along the western edge of the Pacific &quot;Ring of Fire&quot; and is one of the world&#x27;s most tectonically active countries.</p><p>The archipelago, home to around 125 million people, experiences around 1,500 jolts every year.</p><p>The vast majority are mild, although the damage they cause varies according to their location and depth below the Earth&#x27;s surface.</p><p>Quakes are extremely hard to predict, but in January a government panel marginally increased the probability of a major jolt in the Nankai Trough off Japan in the next 30 years to 75-82 percent.</p><p>The government then released a new estimate in March saying that such a &quot;megaquake&quot; and subsequent tsunami could cause as many as 298,000 deaths and damages of up to $2 trillion.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/10/26/heightened-earthquake-preparedness-needed-for-big-one-officials-1218">Heightened earthquake preparedness needed for &#x27;Big One&#x27;</a></div><div><br/></div>

<p>A big quake off northern Japan left at least 30 injured, authorities said Tuesday, damaging roads and leaving thousands without power in freezing temperatures.</p>

A big quake off northern Japan left at least 30 injured, authorities said Tuesday, damaging roads and leaving thousands without power in freezing temperatures.

Major Japan quake leaves 30 injured

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Major Japan quake leaves 30 injured

Agence France-Presse

Published Dec 09, 2025 09:11 AM PHT

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Updated Dec 09, 2025 10:19 AM PHT

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