Following a powerful earthquake that hit central Japan's Noto region on Jan. 1, roughly 80% of people began to evacuate before a major tsunami warning was issued, according to a Nikkei analysis of smartphone location data.

Fast evacuation saved many lives as New Year's tsunami struck Japan

Noto Peninsula residents remembered lessons from 2011 disaster

YUKIKO UNE, Nikkei staff writer

March 17, 2024 11:03 JST

TOKYO -- At 4:10 p.m. on New Year's Day, a powerful 7.6-magnitude temblor rocked central Japan's Noto Peninsula. Kayoko Hamada, a 44-year-old resident in the coastal city of Suzu, Ishikawa prefecture, quickly grabbed the hand of her first-grader daughter and began to run as someone shouted, "A tsunami is coming! Run!"