THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
May 7, 2023 at 18:45 JST
Data from the Daichi-2 advanced land observation satellite shows evidence of landslides in the area around Suzu in Ishikawa Prefecture. (Provided by Geospatial Information Authority of Japan)
Major earthquakes could plague the Noto Peninsula region in Ishikawa Prefecture facing the Sea of Japan for years to come, according to an expert trying to explain seismic swarm activity that has raged there for the past two years or so.
Naoshi Hirata was addressing a news conference after an emergency meeting of the government’s Earthquake Research Committee that he heads on May 6 in light of an earthquake with a seismic intensity of 6 on the Japanese scale of 7 that hit the region the previous day.
He suggested that residents of the Noto Peninsula region should prepare to put up with earthquakes of such intensity for the foreseeable future.
“I hope residents will take into consideration the possibility that a quake of seismic intensity at the 6-level like the latest one could arise over the course of several months or even several years,” said Hirata, professor emeritus of seismology at the University of Tokyo.
A quake of upper 6 was recorded at 2:42 p.m. on May 5. It was followed by 52 temblors with at least a seismic intensity of 1--the smallest class that can be felt by humans--by 4 p.m. on May 6, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
The focus of the May 5 quake was under the sea north of the Noto Peninsula. JMA officials said quake triggered tsunami of 10 centimeters off the city of Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, the hardest hit municipality in the quake.
The focus of subsequent quakes moved north.
“Greater caution against tsunami will be needed if a large quake occurs underwater,” Hirata warned.
The Geospatial Information Authority of Japan reported a land uplift of up to 11 cm at its observation point in Suzu because of the latest activity.
Comparison of data from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Daichi-2 advanced land observation satellite taken on April 21 and again on May 5 found ground movement of up to 20 cm.
The JMA is again urging residents of the Noto region to remain alert to landslides due to continued rainfall in the area on May 7.
(This article was written by Ryo Sasaki and Takahiro Takenouchi.)
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