The “tsunami is coming” siren blared in Kamaishi, Iwate, raising tensions after the alert was issued.
Following the magnitude 4 earthquake that struck off the coast of Sanriku in the Tohoku region on the afternoon of the 9th, a tsunami warning was issued, and tensions were high along the coast of Iwate Prefecture, with emergency radio alerts urging vigilance.
Around 5:03 p.m., the city of Kamaishi, which registered a magnitude 3 earthquake, was shaken by a 30-second horizontal tremor. “A tsunami is approaching.” “Please move away from the coast.”
The alerts were repeated throughout the city, accompanied by sirens and emergency radio announcements. Meanwhile, intermittent tremors continued.
In the lobby of a hotel across from JR Kamaishi Station, guests were seen asking staff where they should evacuate. Despite the light rain, the city streets were sparsely populated, and there was no sign of confusion.
“I was scared and wondered what would happen if the tremors kept getting stronger,” said one person. These words were spoken by Ashikaga Shin, 40, an office worker from Fukushima Prefecture who was on a business trip from Tokyo, staying at a hotel on the Sanriku coast. Several fire trucks were dispatched to the coast, and firefighters ordered an evacuation.
Men, apparently fishermen, were reportedly seen securing the ropes of a fishing boat and speeding away in a pickup truck. Ashikaga said anxiously, “I’m traumatized from the Great East Japan Earthquake (which triggered a devastating tsunami in 2011).
There may still be strong aftershocks, so I want to be on alert.” A 48-year-old office worker near the station seemed worried and commented, “Earthquakes happen periodically, but you never get used to them.” (Nagare Momoka)
