Almost 200,000 could die in major tsunami after ‘maximum-class’ quake, warn Japan authorities

A tsunami warning flashes over live footage of a waterfront area, on a television screen in Sapporo, in Japan’s northern Hokkaido prefecture on Dec 9. - AFP

TOKYO: Japanese government estimates warn that up to 199,000 people could die from a major tsunami following an earthquake along the Japan and Chishima trenches.

According to the government’s Central Disaster Management Council, maximum-class tsunami have occurred along the trenches at intervals of about 300 to 400 years.