Thirty members of a Hong Kong tour group in Japan have experienced minor tremors caused by a powerful earthquake that has struck the country’s central regions, according to trip organisers.
Travel agency EGL Tours on Monday said the group were all safe in Toyama prefecture, which is about 54km (33.6 miles) from Ishikawa, the epicentre of the 7.6-preliminary magnitude quake.
The Japan Meteorological Agency has issued tsunami warnings to Niigata, Toyama and Ishikawa prefectures, anticipating the possibility of waves up to five metres (16.4 feet) in height, and is urging residents to evacuate.
“The tour guide reported that all guests are safe and the tremors from the earthquake were mild,” EGL Tours executive director Steve Huen Kwok-chuen said.
“The group is heading towards a hotel in the inland, which is far away from the coast, they are not expected to be affected by any potential tsunami.”
The company’s six-day tour had kicked off on Saturday, with Huen saying he believed the group’s itinerary would be unaffected by the quake.
Travel Industry Council chairwoman Gianna Hsu Wong Mei-lun said she had approached five agencies that regularly operate trips to Japan and none currently had guests staying in Ishikawa.
“Ishikawa is not a popular destination for regular tour groups, so no travel agency has currently scheduled any itineraries in that area,” she said. “And we have not received any reports of customised tours privately organised to that location.”
A Post reporter in Japan also felt the impact of the earthquake in Aichi prefecture’s Nagoya, about 233km away from Kanazawa in Ishikawa. He had departed from the latter at around noon on Monday.
The Post reporter said he had been settling into his hotel room in Nagoya at around 4pm when he saw television reports about the earthquake.
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Moments later, an alarm on his phone went off and he received a warning via text message of the impending earthquake.
“Strong shaking is expected soon. Stay calm and find shelter nearby. This is called an ‘earthquake early warning’,” the message read.
The reporter lost his balance within seconds and felt dizzy as his room on the hotel’s 14th floor began to violently shake.
He left the room and was guided downstairs by a security guard, who reassured him that everything was fine.
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A receptionist downstairs also called for customers to stay calm.
“No tsunami warnings [for Nagoya] have been issued, and the hotel building is safe and secure,” the hotel employee said.
Hong Kong’s Immigration Department on Monday said it had not received any requests for assistance from city residents in Japan.
The department added that it would continue to closely liaise with the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in Hong Kong, the city’s Travel Industry Authority and the Travel Industry Council.
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