Earthquake expands coastline up to 175 meters in Japan

Tokyo: A study shows that the earthquake that struck Japan’s Noto Peninsula on January 2, 2024 has expanded the coastline in the area by up to 175 meters.

An investigative team led by Associate Professor Gotou Hideaki from Hiroshima University’s graduate school studied the ground shift caused by the earthquake and the effect of tsunami waves in the central Japanese prefecture of Ishikawa, where the quake was centered.

The study was conducted using mainly aerial photos taken after the magnitude 7.6 quake. It covered a stretch of about 50 kilometers of the coastline of the northeastern part of the Noto Peninsula.

Results show the quake raised the ground along nearly all that area, expanding the land. It shifted the coastline seaward by 175 meters in the Kawaura district of Suzu City.

Researchers say that as a result, the ground area expanded by a total of 2.4 square kilometers. Seawater has almost vanished at some ports on the northern coast of the peninsula.

Meanwhile, the death toll has reached 110 on Saturday as a search for survivors in the rubble of collapsed buildings entered a sixth day, with more than 200 still missing after the deadliest quake in nearly eight years.

The quake of magnitude 7.6 struck the west coast, destroying infrastructure and snapping power links to 22,000 homes in the Hokuriku region.