Mass devastation warning: Huge earthquake in world’s most populated city is ‘IMMINENT’

A MASSIVE earthquake killing tens of thousands of people is IMMINENT warn experts, following a huge series of quakes battering the Pacific region.

The population Tokyo in Japan, have been warned that there is a 70 per cent chance of a major quake occurring in the capital which could claim the lives of up to 23,000 people.

The warning comes from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government which said in a recently published 300-page book that the city, which homes 36 million people, is at risk of a massive earthquake in the next three decades.

It comes after scores of Earthquakes have struck over the Pacific region over the past month, with Japan being one of the worse by tremors with at least 48 people dying.

Ecuador suffered most severely with 500 fatalities as a result of a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake in the Latin American country.

A spate of smaller earthquakes has left scientists fearing the ‘Big One’ is on the horizon which could result in local, or even worldwide, devastation.

Experts have claimed that there is a strong possibility of that quake striking Tokyo and the book is designed to give preparation to the citizens.

Satoshi Fujii of Kyoto University and an advisor on the project told Bloomberg: “It’s a race between us and the earthquake.

“And if we don’t win it we won’t be able to protect the capital.

“Once and for all, we have to take action on the basis this thing is coming.”

The warning describes an earthquake with a magnitude of seven or over striking Tokyo as a “highly imminent scenario” killing up to 23,000 people and cost the city $856 billion in damage.

However the Japanese government has made strides towards reinforcing buildings and taken fire preventative methods in order to minimise damage and cost.

Gavin Hayes, research geophysicist at the US Geological Survey, who helped to analyse the recent quakes, added: “It is only a matter of time before a large subduction zone earthquake occurs offshore of Tokyo.

“Eventually that subduction zone south of the Tohoku earthquake will probably generate a very large earthquake.”