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CNN International: 7.5 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Japan, Tsunami Warning Issued; Kyiv Declares New Year's Day To Be A Day Of Mourning As Death Toll Grows From Friday's Russian Strikes; Zelenskyy Praises Ukraine's Strength In New Year's Speech; Japan Chief Cabinet Secretary: Buildings Damaged, Power Outages and Roads Closed; Oregon could Decide soon on Removing Trump from Ballot; Tsunami Warning Issued for Coastal Regions of Western Japan. Aired 8-9 ET

Aired January 01, 2024 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[08:00:00]

MAX FOSTER, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Hello, and welcome to CNN Newsroom. I'm Max Foster in London. Monitoring breaking news for you out of Japan, a powerful 7.5 magnitude earthquake has rocked western Japan, and a tsunami warning has been issued. Japan's weather agency warns the aftershocks could continue for up to a week. Here is a look at some of the damage.

Officials say there are reports of injuries, and some people are trapped inside buildings and under rubble, also reports of damaged buildings, power outages, closed roads. Officials are urging people in coastal areas to evacuate to higher ground as soon as possible. The U.S. Geological Survey has already reported at least 14 aftershocks, one of which measured at 6.2 magnitude. A scientist at Yokohama, Japan, spoke to CNN earlier about his concerns.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZHY BROWN, SAFECAST LEAD RESEARCHER: It was quite alarming. This is the largest tsunami warning that we've had since 2011, as you know. Perhaps, that tsunami was 10 meters or more. So, it was much higher. Still, it's a very remarkably large tsunami. We'll see what the actual effects of that have been. Again, the visual images as you -- and visual images are coming in, trickling in.

We haven't seen a lot. We've seen some fires, particularly on the Noto Peninsula, which is the area of the highest risk. It's a peninsula north of Ishikawa Prefecture, jetting out into the ocean. So, that was very alarming. All of us were very, very concerned about that. Hopefully, in terms of power plants, nuclear power plants, the damages won't be too big, but we expect to see a lot of damage to coastal structures and communities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: I want to bring in now Dr. Mohammad Heidarzadeh in, Bath England. He is Secretary General of the IUGG, an organization responsible for international coordination of tsunami-related research. Thank you so much for joining us through the morning, giving your expertise on this. We have had the most severe warnings downgraded now, but we are still seeing tsunamis hit over a meter. Just explain how concerned you are about that.

DR. MOHAMMAD HEIDARZADEH, SECRETARY GENERAL, JOINT TSUNAMI COMMISSION OF IUGG: Yeah. Obviously, Max, this is a very concerning moment in terms of the earthquake and tsunami worldwide, because we are having a big earthquake, magnitude 7.5. And some agencies, they reported the magnitude of 7.6, and at the very shallow depths of only 10 kilometers, which means a massive tsunami is expected. And this is already confirmed by instrumentation, equipment data that we have from -- along the Japanese coast. The height of the earthquake is more than a meter offshore, which means the final height of the tsunami is going to be five, six meters. And we are unfortunately expecting that some damage along the coastal area.

And we have to also keep in mind that Japan is having nine nuclear power plants along that segment of the coast, because the Japan government moved many of their nuclear power plants to the Japan Sea side because they thought that that area is safer, but obviously is not very much safe because we are having large earthquakes, like the one today.

FOSTER: We've had tsunamis and earthquakes off the other coast, the East Coast, haven't we, before. As you say, a lot of these plants are on the West Coast. And arguably, that's a more vulnerable or at least a less predictable area, isn't it, for tsunamis because of the nature of the land.

HEIDARZADEH: Yeah, definitely. This is also a very vulnerable in terms of the tsunami because the Sea of Japan is an enclosed basin, which means that if we had a tsunami, that is the one today, that tsunami would be oscillating for a long time, for maybe 24 hours or 48 hours, which means we are going to have very long time-flooding, and the impacts of the waves, this wave would be back and forth hitting to the north coast and to the north -- to the coast of the North Korea and then back to Japan. And this is going to be a problem because if it's open coast, i.e., the east side of Japan, the tsunami wave would be dissipating quickly. But, here we are having a situation that is not great. It's kind of chopped, and distract wave is going to oscillate for maybe two days.

And I believe that the Japan government is already aware of that, and that's why they asked local people to evacuate and to stay away from the coast at least half the day.

FOSTER: Yeah. And what's particularly worrying about that is they didn't just say that when the earthquake struck. They're continuing to say it because, as you say, they're concerned about more waves coming in, and it might look like they've subsided, but they could easily come back in again.

[08:05:00]

So, people need to stay away from those coastal areas.

HEIDARZADEH: Yeah. Definitely, Max. You have to keep in mind that the largest wave of a tsunami is not the first wave. Usually, the large waves -- the largest waves are the fifth or the sixth or the 10th wave, I mean, based on experience from many earthquakes worldwide. The largest wave, sometimes it's coming like two, three or four, sometimes six hours after the tsunami beginning, after the earthquake.

So, I think that's why we have to stay away from the coasts and we have to be prepared. I mean, especially, for example, if we come back to the 2011, Japan, big tsunami in 2010, March 2011, the major incident, the major problem was the Fukushima nuclear disaster. And that's why we have to be very cautious regarding the nine nuclear power plants that we have at the coast of the Sea of Japan.

FOSTER: We were told earlier that sea walls have been built around these power stations. Is that enough, do you think?

HEIDARZADEH: I mean, I come back to the experiences from the 2011 big tsunami, and we learned from that incident that the sea wall is not sufficient, and sea wall is not very much helpful when it comes to large tsunamis and earthquakes, and these sea walls, honestly, are not prepared to prevent big tsunamis. They are helpful for storms. Japan is having lots of typhoons, lots of storms every year, maybe like 10 storms every year. And these sea walls are very helpful. But, they are not very helpful when it comes to large tsunamis.

FOSTER: Just explain, we're looking at one of the waves coming down the canal. It doesn't look very threatening when you see it, does it, if you haven't seen one before. But, just explain why they're so much more powerful and dangerous.

HEIDARZADEH: This is actually one of the problems that we have in terms of the tsunami education, because when you see the wave coming from the far, they look small. They look not a big problem. And that's why many local people, I mean, all over the world, they are distant on the coast, and they watch the waves. But, tsunami waves are very small when -- at far distance from the coast. But, near the coast, they become large, and they become very -- they are actually a very energetic wave. They are very fast. And they can easily inundate like 500 or one kilometer off the coastal area.

So, I think this is very important. And Max, you are showing these kind of waves. And -- I mean, I want to tell all of the citizens of the local people that, I mean, don't be misled by the -- by these kind of videos, and evacuate, stay away from the course at least half a day. And I'm sure that Japanese government is giving all of these warnings on the cell phones. I have some images from a Japanese colleague this morning that they just send me the warnings that they had on their cell phones. And yeah, these kinds of videos sometimes can be misleading.

FOSTER: OK. Dr. Mohammad Heidarzadeh, thank you very much indeed for your insight today. We can also speak to Hanako Montgomery. She is our correspondent who is live for us in Tokyo. Just hearing there from the expert how concerned he is about these waves continuing to come in. How is the government responding to all this, Hanako?

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Max. So, the Japanese government has announced that they've dispatched 1,000 Self-Defense Force personnel to the region to help with the evacuation efforts. We also know that 20 aircrafts from the Self-Defense Force have also been dispatched to try to just assess how much damage has been caused to this region.

What we know so far is that 33,000 homes, about 33,000 homes have lost power. We're hearing reports that six cases of people being trapped under their homes. We also know that bullet trains have been suspended. Large cracks in roads making it very difficult for some of these doctors and emergency forces to just get to the people. We also know that, of course, this tsunami warning has been lowered to a tsunami warning period, which means that we could still see waves of up to 10 feet in height, which, again, could be very devastating for the region. It's a developing story. So, we are still waiting to hear just the extent of this damage, Max.

FOSTER: In terms of the information we're getting, it's still very limited, isn't it, because the power stations were automatically closed down to protect them. So, people aren't being able to communicate. They're obviously trying to get to higher ground as well and may be involved in search and rescue themselves. So, we've got very limited information at this point.

MONTGOMERY: Yeah. That's correct, Max. So, the city of Noto, which is very close to the epicenter in Ishikawa, just to paint you a picture, it's a coastal town.

[08:10:00]

A lot of these homes are low rise and they're close to the sea, and many people fish here. They have fishing boats at the pier. So, today is New Year's Day in Japan. This is a time when many people gather to celebrate with their family members, with their loved ones. So, they're at home. And suddenly, they hear that they need to evacuate. They need to get to higher ground, which can be difficult, for instance, for elderly people. But, as soon as those emergency warnings were released, of course, everybody in that region was evacuated to higher ground, and they can't return home until that warning has been lifted, Max.

FOSTER: OK. Hanako Montgomery in Tokyo, back with you as you get more.

Derek Van Dam has been monitoring this. And you've been very interested, I know, Derek, in sort of the landscape really we've got here and how tsunamis operate in a particular way within them.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I would say that the fact that this earthquake struck on the west coast of Japan versus the east coast poses a larger tsunami threat. And we're hearing this from some of the experts as well just because of the nature of the geography that surround that area. We've got the Korean Peninsula to the west. We've got Russia to the west. So, a smaller body of water means that ability for this displacement of water that was caused by the earthquake to slosh back and forth. So, I don't believe that we are going to see the tsunami threat actually minimize to nothing anytime soon. I think we're going to have at least another couple of hours of the tsunami threat, just by the pure nature of where the earthquake actually struck.

So, here are some of the latest video of one of the tsunami waves that reached the western shoreline of Japan. This is the Seki River in Joetsu, Japan. This is just outside of Ishikawa Prefecture. And what I want you to note about this is just the height of the water. By the way, this brings back a lot of memories from 2011. I covered that earthquake and subsequent tsunami. We don't like to see this. This has a lot of energy and a lot of water being forced inland, and also working its way into the habited areas of western Japan.

But, this video really confirmed some of the observed wave heights that we've had over this area. Just going back on that geography reference, you could see, there is Russia, there is a Korean Peninsula, not much here to stop that water from bouncing back and forth. That's why this area is very susceptible versus if it was on the East Coast, we would have the entire Pacific Ocean to absorb that energy. That's not the case.

We have tsunami warnings, which have been downgraded from a major tsunami warning. That difference being no longer five meter tsunami waves anticipated, but up to three meters anticipated with this -- within this particular area. The Ishikawa Prefecture is right there. That band of land that sticks out from the west coast. But, notice, the advisories go as far north as Hokkaido, right? So, that's significant.

So, that video you saw a moment ago fits the narrative of some of the wave heights that we have seen, observed. Remember, there is a lack of communication. There is downed power lines. So, it's very difficult to get information out of this area. But, what we do have confirms and fits that narrative of the video that you saw just a moment ago of wave heights, roughly about one meter. So, this earthquake was significant. We know that it occurred offshore under the ocean floor. And what that did, because it was so large and so shallow, is that it displaced the water at the surface of the ocean. And that forces a wave to form on the surface. In fact, one buoy off the coast of western Japan measured a tsunami wave of one meter.

Now, just because of the basics of bathymetry, the natural shape of the shoreline and the coastline, how it gets shallower and shallower up until it reaches the population density where you and I live, that water has to go somewhere. So, we see the water move up, and that is why the potential here exists for a larger wave. That's why the Japan Meteorological Agency issued its initial warning of a five -- up to five meter tsunami wave. They've downgraded that to a three meter, but it's significant because it was this was the culprit, the 7.5 magnitude with that type of energy, with that type of depth structure. It is going to displace a significant amount of water. And that means that transpires into a larger wave at the surface really, ultimately, when you look at it.

Max, there was a lot of shaking felt. Over 50 million people felt this earthquake as far east as Tokyo. Look at these numbers. I mean, this just really paints a picture here. People waking up on New Year's Day or going about their New Year's festivities, and 44 million people just feeling shaking within their house, that's terrifying. FOSTER: Yeah, and then getting the warning to get to higher land.

DAM: Yeah.

FOSTER: That must have been horrific. Derek --

DAM: Right.

FOSTER: -- thank you so much.

Still to come, our coverage continues after the massive earthquake hits western Japan, details ahead on the tsunami warnings and the evacuations currently in place.

[08:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: We are following breaking news out of Japan where a major 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit the western coast. The New Year's Day quake at a depth of 10 kilometers shallow. Tsunami warnings have been issued along coastal regions of western Japan, but a major tsunami warning has been downgraded. So, people are still being urged to evacuate. Japan's defense ministry says it's dispatching 1,000 Defense Force personnel to help with the earthquake in the aftermath. More than a dozen aftershocks still being reported. Officials warning these could continue for days.

Meanwhile, a somber start to 2024 in the Ukrainian capital. Kyiv has declared a national day of mourning as the death toll from Friday's massive aerial assault by Russia now stands at 53. Ukraine says Russia also launched a record 90 drone attacks on New Year's Eve. In his New Year's speech, Ukraine's President struck a resilient note, saying the country had already "defeated the darkness, thank to the strength of its people." Russian President Vladimir Putin, meantime, did not mention Ukraine by name in his New Year's address, where he emphasized Russia's self-reliance and unity in pursuit of its national interests.

Clare Sebastian joins me here for the update because the numbers keep going up on that attack.

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. That Friday attack, I think, is a signal really that Russia is stepping up its air campaign, that along with the drone attack over New Year's Eve, which Ukraine's Southern Command says lasted for 11 hours that they're prioritizing targeting the port infrastructure in Odessa, and that they're accusing Russia of deliberately directing some of the drones at residential areas at midnight. Now, of course, New Year's Eve, New Year in general is the biggest holiday of all for this season, certainly in Russia and in parts of Ukraine as well. So, that is significant.

We don't have to read between the lines. President Putin has come out in the last few hours and promised to step up strikes on Ukrainian military targets. So, even with the actions of these stepping up attacks, he is now saying it out loud as well. So, I think we can expect these strikes to continue. And of course, that puts Ukraine in a very vulnerable position with its waning Western weapons supplies. The pressure now on its air defenses, all of this going into the New Year.

FOSTER: And in terms of those speeches, what did you make of them? It's interesting that Putin didn't even mention the war, which compares very differently to the one --

SEBASTIAN: Yeah.

FOSTER: -- last year.

SEBASTIAN: Really different. Last year, he stood in front of a group of servicemen and women in uniform and talked much more directly about it. It could be that he is trying to bring in a sense of normality. Obviously, Russia is on a war footing. You only have to look at the economy to see that and the level of defense spending there. But, he is going into an election, which is optically at least very important to him. So, he is positioning himself for that. He has a policy of not mentioning the names of his sworn enemies. We see that often with Navalny. But, it was interesting to see that he did this much shorter, much more pared-back speech.

[08:20:00]

President Zelenskyy by contrast emphasizing the positives, focusing in particular on EU membership, the recent steps to advance Ukraine's EU membership. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (TRANSLATED): Ukrainians are stronger than any blockades and vetoes, disbelief or skepticism, a country that is implementing extremely difficult and necessary reforms and changes during the war, and as a result, a country that is now awaited in the European Union. And these are not just words. These are official decisions, official documents, and this process will definitely have a logical conclusion, full-fledged membership in strong Europe, a powerful one from Lisbon to Luhansk.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: Now, Ukraine is not backing down in the face of these attacks, promising to step up domestic weapons production, but Zelenskyy acknowledging that they do not know for certain what the New Year will bring.

FOSTER: OK. Clare, thank you.

Israel's Military says it's beginning to draw down the number of soldiers deployed on the ground in Gaza as it looks to move to a lower intensity phase of the war against Hamas. A spokesperson says it is part of a managed effort to keep troops fresh for "prolonged fighting through 2020". The military statement coming after Hamas' military wing claimed it launched a barrage of rocks over Tel Aviv right as the New Year started. At least 12 of them were intercepted by Israel, according to a CNN team on the ground. Elliott Gotkine joins us from Tel Aviv, a very depressing start to the

year, much as it was in Ukraine. And it's very clear that the Israeli government aren't going to slow down their effort even if they're reducing troops.

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: That's right, Max. I mean, it's worth noting that Israelis don't usually celebrate New Year's Eve. Sunday and Monday were normal working days. So, ordinarily, there wouldn't be much celebrations. But clearly, this year, there is even less to celebrate with the war in Gaza, and of course, the aftermath of the worst day in Israel's history on October 7 with that terrorist attack from Hamas that killed at least 1,200 people and kidnapped more than 200, more than 100 of whom are still being held in the Gaza Strip.

As far as the military campaign goes, and we just heard from Prime Minister Netanyahu the other day talking about this war going to take months, and what the IDF is saying in terms of these 20,000 soldiers or so who are being allowed to go home, to return to their families, to return to their work and businesses, it is more about allowing them to rest, to replenish, to retrain and get ready for this prolonged conflict. So, I don't think we should really look at it in terms of Israel kind of winding things down in any shape or form. From Israel's perspective, it's still very much a case of mission not accomplished yet, namely, destroy Hamas militarily and get those hostages back home.

And of course, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, we know that death toll continues to rise. And I'm afraid on January 1, it's almost inevitable that death toll, which doesn't distinguish between competence and civilians, will inevitably rise. And it's all a question of just how much longer this war continues, and if there is hopes of some kind of conversations leading to maybe some kind of truce may come to fruition. Max.

FOSTER: OK. Elliott, thank you so much for that.

Now, the U.S. Navy says it sank three Houthi boats after an attack on a merchant ship off the coast of Yemen. It is the first time since the war broke out in Gaza that the U.S. has killed members of the Iranian- backed group. The Houthis have been targeting vessels in the Red Sea region to show support for Hamas. A shipping company Maersk confirmed all crew members are safe after the attack.

CNN's Natasha Bertrand joins us now from Washington, D.C. Does this mark a new stage, a strategy in this wider fallout from the Israel- Hamas war?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Well, Max, the U.S. says that it was acting in self-defense, because according to Maersk, the shipping company and the U.S. Military, the Houthis when they approached that merchant vessel in four small boats, prompting a distress call from the Maersk vessel to the U.S. Navy which is operating in the area, those Houthis, when the Navy responded with helicopters, opened fire on U.S. assets on the helicopters that were responding to try to protect that ship. And so, the U.S. says that they really had no choice here except to respond, and that led them to sink three of those four Houthi boats, and killing everyone on board those boats, according to U.S. Central Command.

But, this does mark a new stage of the conflict, because we have not seen before a direct confrontation between the U.S. and the Houthis in terms of the U.S. actually killing Houthi militants before. The U.S. has stopped short of striking Houthi targets inside Yemen itself. They have shot down a number of missiles and drones that the Houthis have launched against these commercial vessels operating in the Red Sea over the last couple of months.

[08:25:00]

But, they have not taken that step to actually directly hit Houthi militants and infrastructure inside Yemen. So, the fact that they now have sunk these boats, have killed these militants, potentially could provoke the Houthis even further and escalate the situation even more. But, the U.S. now says that it is continuing on its plan to bulk up security in the region through what they call "Operation Prosperity Guardian", which is a maritime task force consisting of several different nations that are operating there, has not yet deterred the Houthis from launching these attacks on these commercial ships.

And so, the U.S. now saying that they're not going to take anything off the table in terms of response, but, of course, they don't want to see this escalate even further. And so, they're still reluctant to hit the Houthis directly inside Yemen, Max.

FOSTER: OK. Natasha in Washington, thank you.

Still to come, coverage continues after a massive earthquake hits western Japan, details ahead on the tsunami warnings and evacuations.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: We're following breaking news out of Japan. Tsunami warnings have been issued along coastal regions of western Japan after a major 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit. The news day quake had a depth of 10 kilometers. More than a dozen aftershocks have been reported, and officials warn they could continue for days now. Damages reported so far to roads and buildings, 1,000 Self Defense Force personnel are being sent to the region.

CNN's Hanako Montgomery joining us live from Tokyo. What's the latest you're hearing about the number of tsunamis, and how long they'll continue?

MONTGOMERY: Hi, Max. So, as we know, right, these tsunamis could continue for a couple of hours after this. The earthquake, this very powerful earthquake that hit around 4:10 p.m. local time, triggered tsunamis. And as you mentioned, it triggered a tsunami because also it was a very shallow earthquake. And what this means is that the tsunamis could become more powerful, more destructive.

[08:30:00]

We're still seeing that 1.2 meter high waves hit parts of Japan. The tsunami warning, though, it was previously a higher level, has now been lowered so that we're expecting to see 16-feet-high waves. And just within Ishikawa Prefecture and around the region, we're hearing reports of people -- 33,000 homes losing their power. We're also hearing case -- cases, at least six cases of people being trapped under their homes.

We also know that bullet trains have been suspended because of this earthquake and the tsunamis. We also know that at least thousand self- defense force personnel had been evacuated -- had been sent to the area to help people evacuate.

Now, of course, as soon as this earthquake happened, people were told to evacuate the area and get to higher ground, Ishikawa Prefecture and the City of Noto, which is a very small coastal town, and has a lot of low rise homes.

People were in their homes, you know, celebrating New Year's Day, with their friends and with their families. And when that emergency warning came up, people had to leave their homes, leave their belongings and just get to higher ground Max.

FOSTER: In terms of the government response, you were talking about how they're sending support to the area. Presumably they're just trying to gather information right now as well like everyone else, because, you know, all the lines are down.

MONTGOMERY: Yes, exactly. They're trying to gather information about just how much destruction is in the area. We also do know that there are people being evacuated to schools, because of course, they can't get into their homes. There has been a tsunami warning issued to the camera turn (ph) home but also some people who just don't have homes to return to.

They have seen their homes collapse, right? So we're seeing these self-defense force personnel being dispatched to the area to just essentially help with any emergencies, any support that the people need in Ishikawa Prefecture.

FOSTER: Okay, Hanako Montgomery in Tokyo, thank you. Earlier I spoke to Ellen Prager a Tsunami Expert in the U.S. Take a listen to what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELLEN PRAGER, MARINE SCIENTIST AND AUTHOR: The thing with tsunamis is, especially if you're near the epicenter, you can get a very large tsunami that could be very destructive. Luckily, it looks like the threat of a very big tsunami has passed already. But even a little bit of water rushing in is very powerful.

FOSTER: Yeah, so what -- I think the highest one we've had so far is 1 meter 20. That can do a lot of damage, though, can't it? Depending on how many are following it?

PRAGER: Well, it can. And also one of the things with tsunamis, it depends on the configuration of the coastline, what sort of -- what's the nature of the coastline? Is it low lying? Is there are there trees or mangrove forests depends on what's there. And the configuration that all can change the shape and the size of the tsunami as it hits.

FOSTER: And it's pretty untested this side of Japan as well, isn't it? We've had earthquakes and tsunamis on the other side of Japan. But this is a very different geography as you describe, and you've got that much more enclosed ocean there if you look up to the carriers (ph). Derek, our Meteorologist saying there is this threat that the water can wash in and out in a way that it wouldn't do on the other side of the of the country.

PRAGER: They are very different on the other side of the country, its subduction zone and you can actually get much stronger earthquakes and potentially largest tsunamis. On that side on the west side of Japan, it's what's called -- this is a reverse fault that has -- we can say broken and has thrust the water upwards.

But usually they're not going to get as big of a tsunami as if it was on the other side in a subduction zone. And because you right, you're in a bay, you could potentially get what's called the safe are sloshing back and forth. But it doesn't look like this is going to be a serious issue there.

It pretends -- it has that potential. But according to the Japan made (ph) logical agency and tsunami warning system, it doesn't look like it's going to be that serious. Over the next hours or so couple hours you could see small water rises. But hopefully that's going to be the extent of it.

FOSTER: Presumably it will depend on the aftershocks as well. They do seem to be continuing right now. I think one was over six as well so not insignificant.

PRAGER: Right. The aftershocks typically, anytime there is an earthquake over 7.1 automatically you get an alert for looking for a tsunami. The aftershocks are probably not going to create a bigger tsunami. But yes, they have to keep an eye on those.

And if remember the wave get a tsunami is displacement of water. So if you're just getting shaking, it's not -- that's not going to create or trigger a tsunami. You have to actually have the sea floor has to go up or down. That's what triggers the tsunami.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well in U.S. politics meanwhile the New Year could spell new legal challenges for Donald Trump. Oregon Supreme Court is deciding whether to ban the Former President from the state's ballot arguing with follow Colorado and Maine.

[08:35:00]

Although those decisions haven't yet come into effect, it's expected that tomorrow Donald Trump's legal team will appeal the decisions. The states are using the 14th Amendment's over Mr. Trump's alleged role in the January 6th Insurrection. The 14th Amendment says U.S. officials who take an oath to uphold the constitution are disqualified from holding future office if they engaged in insurrection or have given aid or comfort to insurrectionists.

Now at the beginning of 2023, the U.S. and other Western allies promised Ukraine their unwavering support by year's end it was a different story. Military aid is drying up with few secure promises for more. Ukraine's counter offensive is faltering too. CNN's Melissa Bell takes a look at how a year that began with promise ended in disappointment.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was an 11th hour invitation that led President Zelenskyy to Washington in December, this time with a question of further funding to Ukraine stalled on Capitol Hill.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I know what you've given us.

BELL (voice-over): A far cry from the heroes welcomed the Ukrainian President had received in 2022 with progress on the ground in Ukraine, apparently stalled as well.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: The counteroffensive is difficult. It's happening probably slower than how some people may want or can see it.

BELL (voice-over): A foothold on the East Bank of the Dnipro River, one of the rare Ukrainian gains despite months of fighting with questions of how much more money allies can invest.

MIKE JOHNSON, U.S. HOUSE SPEAKER: What the Biden Administration seems to be asking for is billions of additional dollars with no appropriate oversight, no clear strategy to win.

BELL (voice-over): Allegations of corruption haven't helped, despite President Zelenskyy's determination to act with the firing of top officials and the arrest of a leading oligarch who was also a backer of his presidential bid.

ZELENSKYY: Any internal issue that hinders the state has been cleaned up and will be cleaned up further. We need a strong state and Ukraine will be just that.

BELL (voice-over): But it is on the battlefield that the Ukrainian President's ability to lead is being engaged most closely, as is his relationship to the troops and to the man who leads them -- with hints of a strained relationship alluded to at Zelenskyy's end of year press conference.

ZELENSKYY: He has to answer for results on the battlefield as Commander in Chief together with the general staff. There are many questions.

BELL (voice-over): Questions also for European and American allies, looking to Zelenskyy to deliver a victory against Russia. In return for air defense systems, tanks, missile systems, and now fighter jets all too little too late say Ukrainians as support for even that aid dries up.

Zelenskyy is now in unchartered territory, with tens of billions in dollars and euros for Ukraine held up by politicians on both sides of the Atlantic the European Union now wrestling with Hungary's opposition as Republicans slow U.S. aid.

ZELENSKYY: I am confident that the United States of America will not betray us.

BELL (voice-over): But there has been some relief for Ukraine this Christmas, with news breaking of the first long promised F-16 fighters headed for the country.

ZELENSKYY: Like our victory in the Black Sea we aim to win the air battle crushing Russian air dominance.

BELL (voice-over): A note of optimism from a leader desperate to believe that his war can still be won. Melissa Bell, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Well, more of our breaking news coverage just ahead on the earthquake and tsunami warnings in Japan.

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FOSTER: An update now on our breaking news out of Western Japan where a powerful 7.5 magnitude earthquake is triggering tsunami warnings. Japan's weather agency says that aftershocks could continue to -- for up to a week. Officials were urging people in coastal areas to evacuate to higher ground as soon as possible.

Tsunami warnings being issued when waves are expected to be three meters or above this video shows waves rolling into a canal in a Coastal Town Joetsu. We're getting pictures of some of the damage as well. Officials report power outages, damage to roads, buildings and some flight cancellations as well.

Let's bring in Robert Geller, Seismologist and Emeritus Professor of the University of Tokyo joins us now live from Tokyo. I mean, in terms of the images, you've seen, Professor, how serious is this?

ROBERT GELLER, SEISMOLOGIST: Well, the bad news is that there's a lot of damage to property and to roads. The good news is not at this point, and appears nothing the loss of life, if any, is quite small, we still don't know the full picture. And also it appears that the tsunami evacuations were successful. And there were no casualties, knowing that this time from the tsunami. So it could have been worse.

FOSTER: Absolutely. But as you say it is early days. And I know that communications are down because they also had to close down the power plants didn't they to protect them?

GELLER: Well, the nuclear plants were shut down as a precaution. The ordinary power plants remain in operation. But a lot of the power lines are down because of the earthquake. So there are a number of communities without power for the moment, probably most of that will be restored tomorrow, and almost all of it in say the next three days.

FOSTER: The earthquake hit very close to Japan. And that was one of the problems wasn't it? It was also very shallow. And it's --

GELLER: Yes, it was very shallow underwater.

FOSTER: That's --

GELLER: So.

FOSTER: That's why it was so worrying in terms of tsunami threats.

GELLER: That's correct. The shallower -- the earthquake the more it pushes up the water and as your previous guest correctly said.

FOSTER: When you see these images of the tsunamis, can you just explain -- I know you're not -- you're an earthquake expert. But when it comes to the tsunamis, how often -- how long do they last? Because it's the main earthquake that causes them isn't it not necessarily the aftershocks?

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GELLER: Well, aftershocks are too small to cause significant tsunamis. So what happens is, when the main shock creates a tsunami, it can take several hours to propagate along the coast. So, the closest part of the coast to the earthquake will be hit very quickly. But the more distant parts, it can take two or three hours. So some of the tsunamis, hit like three or four hours after the main event.

FOSTER: Okay, Robert Geller Seismologist thank you very much, indeed for your insights today. We're still sort of digesting all the data of course as well to try to figure out exactly what happened with the earthquake and you know the subsequent tsunamis? But we'll be right back and we're going to bring you more details as they come in to us.

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FOSTER: An update on our breaking news out of Western Japan where a powerful 7.5 magnitude earthquake is triggering tsunami warnings. Japan's Weather Agency warns that aftershocks could continue for up to -- for up to a week. Officials are urging people in coastal areas to evacuate to higher ground as soon as possible.

Tsunami warnings issued when waves are expected to be three meters or above, this video shows waves rolling into a canal in a Coastal Town of Joetsu. We're getting pictures of some of the damage as well. Official reports of power outages, damage to roads as well into buildings and some flight cancellations.

Meteorologist Derek Van Dam joins us from the World Weather Center. Just explain to us Derek why this particular area is so worrying and unpredictable when it comes to this sort of event. DAM: Yeah, I think a lot of us are used to earthquakes and tsunami threats along the east facing shoreline of Japan. But this time, with the epicenter of this powerful 7.5 earthquake being just offshore you need to consider what is our neighboring countries to the west.

We've got the Korean Peninsula, Russia here. And so not only are their local effects occurring because of this sloshing effect of the water with this very shallow, powerful earthquake that occurred just offshore so it's bouncing around between the bays and the canals within this area the little peninsula within the Ishikawa Prefecture but also the larger region actually needs to be considered as well.

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Because when we get a powerful earthquake like this that creates a wave that propagates in all directions. And of course, with the body of lands just to its west, it doesn't take much to see that bouncing effect to take place. Kind of similar to if you had a bathtub full of water and you were to drop a rock inside you would see the waves propagate out in all directions and eventually bounced back towards the area causing chaos and further additional waves as well.

So the tsunami warning from the Japan Meteorological Agency calls for waves within this area of red. You can see that including the Ishikawa Prefecture, but portions of Honshu as well on that Western facing shoreline up to three meters. We have advisories that stretch as far north as Hokkaido.

So that is something to consider. And this is some of the first video that we have seen of the actual tsunami wave reaching the shoreline. So this is just outside of the Ishikawa Prefecture, very nearby and some of those local bays, this is the Seki River, very close to the epicenter.

But nonetheless, this wave height that you're seeing behind me fits the narrative of the observations that we've seen on the ground of roughly a meter high tsunami wave that was forecast and are actually observed with this.

Now, the potential here still exists for waves to be larger than this. So the threat has not diminished yet because of that sloshing effect I told you about just a moment ago. So look at the observed wave heights, this is out of the Ishikawa Prefecture. Some of these locations further up the west coast of, of Japan.

But one thing you just need to take note from this is that generally 1.2 meters to roughly a meter, that is the observed wave heights that we have seen from this tsunami that was formed from a very powerful underground or underwater earthquake that displaced the water at the surface of the ocean, and just simple bathymetry that is the natural shape of the coastline, that actually goes shallower and shallower as it reaches the coast.

And that wave has nowhere to go. But up as it reaches the areas where you and I live are the population densities of Western Japan, for instance, and so that wave is forced onshore. And of course, anything that comes in must be pulled back.

So if there was destructive waves that brought down debris, that debris will be brought back into the ocean and potentially brought back inland again, because a tsunami is not one singular wave Max, it is often a series of waves and sometimes the crests between those waves can last anywhere from five minutes to an hour. So this threat has not been diminished yet.

FOSTER: You were talking earlier about the economic damage that you can already account for, because we can sort of figure out, you know, what is -- you know, what sort of businesses are laid out there and how this may have an economic impact. And it's pretty apparent already. And this was a major world economy.

DAM: Right. Yeah. Well, we already know that over 50 million people felt some kind of shaking. So now we've got to analyze what types of building structures they have within this part of Japan. And from what we have found is it's a mixture of concrete reinforced buildings and apartments and businesses, but also a mixture of wood homes, for instance.

So with aftershocks ongoing, and an initial powerful earthquake of 7.5, that has really compromised those structures. So the potential for aftershocks to take down, buildings and homes still exists. We already had 19 aftershocks of 2.5 or greater and we anticipate those aftershocks to continue.

But in terms Max of that GDP, the USGS the US Geological Survey has a really clever way of analyzing earthquakes in real time. What they do is they compare this particular earthquake with previous earthquakes of similar magnitude and of similar depth and they say, hey, okay, from previous events, we know that this caused roughly 1 percent or lower of the GDP of Japan as a whole.

That's not to say that that's what happened with this particular event. Of course, we're still getting some of the first information from -- on the ground where communication is extremely limited. Electricity is limited, but based on previous events of similar magnitude, according to the USGS, the estimated economic losses, less than 1 percent of GDP but this is a major economic powerhouse of the world. So that is significant, and certainly saying something.

FOSTER: I really appreciate your insight today Derek thank you so much indeed.

DAM: Thank you Max.

FOSTER: We are going to recap the breaking news of Japan. Tsunami warnings have been issued along coastal regions of Western Japan after that major 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit the New Year's Day quake had a debt of 10 kilometers which is shallow which is why there's been so much impact from it.

[08:55:00]

More than a dozen aftershocks have been reported. And officials warn they could continue for days. Damage is reported so far to roads and buildings but we're still getting the images in. And the support teams are only just being sent thousand self-defense personnel being sent to that region.

We will be across a story throughout the day for you but for now, thank you for joining me here on CNN Newsroom. I'm Max Foster in London. CNN's coverage of the earthquake in Japan continues throughout the day.

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