And How Was Your New Year's Day?

For Japan, not so good:

Japan was rocked Monday by a powerful earthquake measuring a 7 on Japan’s shindo scale — the strongest rating — prompting tsunami warnings for the length of the country's western coast and inflicting widespread damage.

Tsunami waves were recorded in some areas following the magnitude 7.6 quake, which struck near Ishikawa Prefecture’s Noto Peninsula at around 4:10 p.m. It was followed by several strong aftershocks.

At least five people have died while others were trapped in collapsed buildings. A large-scale fire also broke out in in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, following the quake, while several other municipalities reported collapsed houses.

Several injuries were reported, including two women who were taken to hospitals after falling or being hit by falling objects in Awara, Fukui Prefecture, local authorities said. A woman in her 80s in Itoigawa, Niigata Prefecture, fell while evacuating and suffered a head injury.

In Ishikawa, approximately 32,500 homes lost power.

A total of more than 51,000 people in five prefectures were instructed to evacuate, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.

About 1,000 residents and others evacuated to an Air Self-Defense Force base in Wajima, and the SDF is responding by distributing blankets, water and food, the Defense Ministry said.

Ishikawa Gov. Hiroshi Hase asked the SDF to send members on a disaster relief mission, according to the central government.

The quake's epicenter was in the Noto region, which is prone to major earthquakes. Its depth was very shallow, according to the weather agency.

No abnormalities were reported at nuclear plants in the country after the earthquake, the government said.

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Past instances show there is a risk of up to 20% that another quake of the same size could take place, the Japan Meteorological Agency said in a press briefing. Residents in the area continue to be hit by frequent aftershocks, which are putting structures in the region at even greater risk.

People in areas worst affected should be on alert over the next week for the possibility of large earthquakes and potentially tsunami, according to JMA.

 

Oh, and there is a fresh hell, too:

A Japan Airlines jet burst into flames on a runway at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on Tuesday after a runway collision with a Japan Coast Guard plane.

The Airbus A350's 367 passengers and 12 crew members were all able to evacuate safely via an emergency slide. According to NHK, at least 17 people sustained injuries.

Five of the six people on the coast guard plane died, with the captain surviving but sustaining severe injuries.