Speaking to CNN, resident from Fukushima prefecture said they immediately feared the worst when they felt Tuesday's earthquake.
"I came to my company first to check it is still standing and products are all intact, then I went back home to evacuate," 42-year-old Kazunari Ogawara said.
"My company was washed away by the 2011 tsunami, I was scared to think that that was going to happen again and we'd have to start from scratch."
Firefighters watch the port to check the water level after a tsunami warning in Soma, Fukushima prefecture, Tuesday, November 22.
Firefighters watch the port to check the water level after a tsunami warning in Soma, Fukushima prefecture, Tuesday, November 22.
75-year-old Mitsuhiro Kusaka, still living in temporary housing after the 2011 disaster, said she thought she wouldn't survive this time.
"I cannot describe in words how terrible to live in fear ... I am so scared to go home. We might have huge quakes anytime again," she told CNN.
In Ibaraki Prefecture one woman said she didn't feel she could drop her guard after the earthquake and was still praying for minimal damage.
Hours later, the warnings were dropped. Three people were injured, police told CNN, while more than 1,900 homes briefly lost power.