JAPAN is on high alert as more earthquakes could strike over the next two days leaving buildings at a "very high risk" of collapsing.
Over 150 powerful tremors have already plagued central Japan since New Year's Day - leaving 48 dead, homes destroyed and many without power and stockpiling food.
A series of powerful quakes and tsunamis struck the countries main island of Honshu on January 1, 2024 – the worst being a 7.6 magnitude tremor that swept through the island.
Since then, Japan's meteorological agency has sent out a strict warning to residents that more major disasters could hit the area soon.
A spokesperson for the agency said: "Do not wander away from the safe place.
"There is a very high risk of buildings collapsing and other damages caused by the tremors. History tells us that the similar scale of earthquakes can reoccur within two to three days."
The first few powerful quakes triggered tsunami waves more than a metre high that ended up toppling over buildings, ripping apart roads and causing a major fire in the area.
Pictures show how homes were left crumpled up as they caved in on themselves as some were even smashed into by flying cars and pulled into the sea by the tsunamis.
Officials initially feared waves could be as high as 16ft in some places before warnings were lifted early on Tuesday morning.
The worst affected areas were Toyama, Ishikawa and Niigata - all of which are now at risk of landslides as aftershocks are set to continue over the next few days.
At least 48 people have been confirmed dead so far - with the death toll expected to sharply rise as the days go on and rescuers can start to search the rubble for survivors.
At least six people are thought to be trapped, according to the government as they added that 1,000 soldiers had been deployed to aid rescue efforts.
Japan's prime minister Fumio Kishida said during an emergency disaster meeting: “The search and rescue of those impacted by the quake is a battle against time."
"Very extensive damage has been confirmed, including numerous casualties, building collapses and fires."
As daylight broke, the scale of the destruction on the Noto Peninsula emerged with buildings still on fire, houses flattened, fishing boats sunk or washed ashore and motorways hit by brutal landslides.
A huge fire raged in the residential area of Wajima, Ishikawa, close to the epicentre of the successive earthquakes.
It engulfed a row of houses, with people being evacuated in the dark, some with blankets and others carrying babies.
Aerial news footage showed the terrifying scale of the fire - where a seven-storey commercial also building collapsed.
The after-effects of the major 7.6 earthquake were felt in North Korea, South Korea and Russia's Far East - where tsunami warnings were also issued to local populations.
On Monday, Japanese TV channels interrupted normal services with warnings including a video of Kishida urging people in danger areas to "evacuate as soon as possible" to higher ground.
An alarmed presenter on national broadcaster NHK told viewers: “We realise your home, your belongings are all precious to you, but your lives are important above everything else! Run to the highest ground possible."
Government spokesperson, Hayashi Yoshimasa, warned it was critical for people in coastal areas to get away from the oncoming tsunami waves.
He said: "Every minute counts. Please evacuate to a safe area immediately."
Around 33,500 households around the epicentre, in Toyama, Ishikawa and Niigata prefectures, were without power, local utilities said.
Panic buying has broken out in the stores across the affected areas as residents stock up on water, rice and bread.
The country's nuclear authority said that nuclear plants in the area had not reported any irregularities and there was no risk of radioactive leaks.
An elderly man told broadcaster NHK: "I have never experienced anything like this before, it was scary. I went out right away but the ground was shaking," .
A young boy added: "I was scared to see utility poles shaking."
In South Korea, waves measuring 3ft reached its eastern coast after the quakes in Japan.
The city of Samcheok advised residents to move to areas higher than a three-storey building.
Separately, North Korea issued tsunami warnings for its coast of possible waves of more than 7ft.
Russia also declared a tsunami alert in the far eastern cities of Vladiovostok, close to Japan's Pacific seaboard, state news reported.
Thousands were also left stranded on public transport as the earthquakes ripped through the city.
Around 1,400 people were stuck on bullet trains as another 1,000 were made to stay on local express trains for almost 24 hours after they were halted on Monday, NHK said.
About 500 people were also stranded at a badly affected airport that had been damaged in the tsunamis and quakes with access roads blocked and the runway riddled with cracks.
Japan is one of the most seismically active countries in the world due to its position in the the "Pacific Ring of Fire" where several tectonic plates meet and grind against each other.
Honshu, Japan's main island and the epicentre of today's quakes, lies at the intersection between Eurasian, Philippine and North American plates.
The country is haunted by the memory of a massive 9.0 magnitude undersea quake off northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, which triggered a tsunami that killed nearly 20,000 people.
New Year's Day was the first time since that fateful day that Japan has issued a major tsunami warning.
The 2011 tsunami also sent three reactors into meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant, causing Japan's worst post-war disaster and the most serious nuclear accident since Chernobyl.
In March 2022, a 7.4-magnitude quake off the coast of Fukushima shook large areas of eastern Japan, killing three people.
