As of the morning of January 2, at least four people were killed and about 30 injured in the 7.6-magnitude earthquake that struck central Japan on the afternoon of January 1. The Japan Fire and Disaster Management Agency said a total of more than 97,000 people in nine prefectures had been advised to evacuate.

The earthquake triggered a tsunami and fires in Ishikawa Prefecture, damaging many homes and roads, Kyodo News reported. About 32,500 homes in Ishikawa were without power. The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a special warning of a tsunami of 3 meters or higher on Ishikawa's Noto Peninsula, but downgraded the warning hours later. The agency said a tsunami of 1.2 meters hit the prefecture's Wajima port.

The quake was felt across a wide area from Hokkaido in northern Japan to Kyushu in the southwest. The epicenter was about 30 kilometers east-northeast of Wajima, with a temporary depth of 16 kilometers, according to the weather agency. Since the strong earthquake that occurred on January 1, Japan has recorded a series of 87 aftershocks above 2 on the Richter scale. NHK television quoted the agency's assessment as warning that earthquakes with a seismic intensity of up to 7 on the Richter scale could occur in the heavily affected areas in the coming days.

The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said a total of more than 97,000 people in nine prefectures had been advised to evacuate. About 1,000 people were evacuated to the Air Self-Defense Force base in Wajima and were given blankets, drinking water and food, according to the Defense Ministry.

Both North and South Korea have issued tsunami warnings for coastal areas on the eastern side of the Korean Peninsula, according to local media and authorities. The Russian government has issued a tsunami warning for the western coastal area of ​​Sakhalin in the country's Far East following the earthquake in Japan.

KHANH HUNG