Tokyo, March 14: Japan is facing its worst crisis since the end of World War II, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said in an address to the country.
The situation at a quake-stricken atomic power plant also remained grave, Mr Kan said as engineers battled a nuclear emergency sparked by the massive 9 magnitude earthquake and the surge of water it triggered.
Japan faces a “70 per cent” possibility of a magnitude-7 aftershock following the massive earthquake that struck its northeast coast, a government official said on Sunday.
“There is a 70 per cent possibility that an aftershock with a magnitude of seven or more will occur” within the next three days, said Takashi Yokota, director of earthquake prediction and information at the Japan Meteorological Agency.
“The possibility is 50 per cent” during the three days from March 16, he added, pointing out that strong aftershocks have continued since Friday’s quake and tsunami.
A magnitude 7 quake is capable of destroying buildings and triggering tsunamis.
Mr Yokota said aftershocks have occurred in an undersea area, 500km long and 200km wide, off the coasts of Miyagi and Ibaraki prefectures in the northeast.
——–Agencies