🇯🇵 Japan · Disasters & accidents
44 storiesJapan withdraws erroneous M9.9 earthquake warning
Japan's weather agency cancelled an erroneous earthquake warning on 16 October after overestimating a magnitude 6.9 quake near Kamchatka as magnitude 9.9. No shaking above intensity 1 was observed in Japan.
Typhoon 30 (Champar) forms near Marshall Islands, may approach Japan next week
Typhoon No. 30, named Champar (チャンパー), formed at 15:00 on 15 October in the Marshall Islands, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. It is the first time since 2013 that 30 typhoons have formed in a year. The agency expects it to become a "v…
Man dies, five-year-old granddaughter critical after Onomichi bus collision
A 73-year-old man died after his small car collided head-on with a bus in Onomichi, Hiroshima Prefecture, on October 15. His five-year-old granddaughter was unconscious and in critical condition, and his 69-year-old wife was seriously injur…
Nakagawa plastics factory fire continues overnight; all 46 employees evacuated
A fire at a plastics factory in Nakagawa, Tochigi prefecture, continued into the night on October 12, with no injuries reported. All 46 employees evacuated, and 38 firefighting vehicles were deployed without a clear prospect of extinguishin…
Two men die as festival floats overturn in Osaka prefecture
Two men died after danjiri festival floats overturned in Izumisano and Izumiotsu on October 10, Japanese outlets reported. Several reports put the combined injury toll at 16, while Sankei Shimbun's headline gave 17.
Magnitude 7.7 earthquake strikes southern Panama; building collapses reported
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck southern Panama at 12:56 local time on October 9, according to the USGS, as cited by Kyodo. Reports of collapsed hotels and churches in Cocle province were being checked by local authorities, while the Pana…
Nepal ends landslide search; over 5,000 missing, including five Japanese
Nepal's government decided on Oct. 5 to call off search and rescue operations for the Aug. 26 landslide on the China-Nepal border, except where searches are still needed or new information emerges, and to shift its focus to recovery and rec…
Typhoon No. 27 moves north near Ogasawara as typhoons 28 and 29 form
Typhoon No. 27, described by the Japan Meteorological Agency as large and very strong, moved north over waters near the Ogasawara Islands and was forecast to approach the islands at very strong intensity from the evening of Oct. 5 to early …
Boy, 9, in critical condition after Awaji sea fall; rescuer's body found
A 9-year-old boy is unconscious and in critical condition after falling into the sea while fishing off a breakwater in Shizuki-Niijima, Awaji City, Hyogo Prefecture, early on October 4. A man in his 20s who is an acquaintance of the boy's m…
Magnitude 4.8 earthquake in northeastern Chiba brings shindo 4 to Asahi, no tsunami risk
An earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 4.8 struck northeastern Chiba Prefecture at about 04:13 on 8 October, registering shindo 4 on Japan's seismic intensity scale in the city of Asahi. The Japan Meteorological Agency said there was …
Russian diplomatic car and passenger car collide outside Foreign Ministry in Tokyo; 4 hurt
A car with Russian diplomatic plates, which Jiji Press reported was a Russian Embassy vehicle, collided with a passenger car in front of the Foreign Ministry in Kasumigaseki, Tokyo, at around 5:30 p.m. on October 8. Four people were injured…
Three typhoons active near Japan as Typhoon 27 moves north, JMA says
The Japan Meteorological Agency announced on Oct. 5 that Typhoon 28 (Nolo) and Typhoon 29 (Koguma) had formed, making three active typhoons near Japan with Typhoon 27 (Choi-wan). Typhoon 27 was large and very strong, moving north-northwest …
Worker unconscious after apparent fall at Onagawa nuclear plant in Miyagi
A man working at Tohoku Electric Power's Onagawa nuclear power plant in Miyagi Prefecture was unconscious on October 9 after apparently falling from scaffolding during work. A colleague told the fire service at around 9:30 a.m. that a man i…
Kesennuma house fire: two residents out of contact, two firefighters transported
A fire broke out in a wooden partly two-story house in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, around 21:50 on Oct. 5, according to TBS NEWS DIG. Two people at the house were out of contact, and the fire department sent 13 pump trucks; as of 23:00 no…
Worker dies after being caught in garbage truck machinery in Fukuoka City
A male worker died on the morning of Oct. 4 after being caught in the machinery of a garbage collection truck at a commercial facility in Higashi Ward, Fukuoka City, while collecting cardboard. Fukuoka prefectural police's Higashi station i…
Brazilian truck driver, 67, dies in Hamamatsu motocross course fall
A 67-year-old Brazilian national died on October 4 after the motorcycle he was riding overturned at a motocross course in Chuo ward, Hamamatsu, according to police accounts reported by local outlets. Nippon TV News identified him as a truck…
Explosion at Toray group plant in Otsu injures three; gas-like substance detected
An explosion at a Toray group company plant on the Toray Shiga business site in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, on the afternoon of Oct 5 sent three people to hospital. Livedoor News said a 35-year-old man doing machine maintenance in the room next…
Typhoon No. 25 deaths in Chiba and Kanagawa reach 15; Chiba missing count at zero
The death toll from Typhoon No. 25 in Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures stands at 15, with 10 deaths in Chiba Prefecture and five in Kanagawa Prefecture, according to figures from Chiba Prefecture. Chiba Prefecture said on October 4 that a man…
Eight divers rescued after going missing off Tokyo's Hachijojima; all conscious
Eight people—one diving instructor and seven customers—went missing while diving off Hachijojima in Tokyo on October 3. The boat's captain reported they had not surfaced as scheduled, and the Japan Coast Guard searched with patrol boats and…
Boy, 15, dies after express train hits him at unguarded crossing in Nagano
A 15-year-old middle school student was hit by a JR Oito Line limited express train at a level crossing in Omachi, Nagano Prefecture, shortly before 4 p.m. on Oct 4 and died about an hour and a half later at a hospital in Matsumoto. The cro…