I was just 14 when, on the morning of March 13, 2011, I woke to a blaring siren and a chilling announcement echoing through my neighbourhood: “Stay at home, stay at home”.

Iwaki, my home town, stood on the edge of uncertainty – part of it was close to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

In this video image taken from NTV Japan, smoke rises from Fukushima Daiichi power plant. Credit: NTV Japan

Two days before, a massive 9.0-magnitude earthquake struck Japan, triggering a 14-metre tsunami which flooded the power plant. Within an hour, power was lost, cooling systems failed, and three reactors began to overheat. Meltdowns followed, releasing radioactive materials and forcing the evacuation of more than 150,000 residents. Evacuation zones initially covered 12 per cent of Fukushima prefecture.

Although Australia does not experience as many earthquakes as Japan, there was a 4.6 magnitude earthquake in the Hunter Valley this week, with tremors felt as far south as Wollongong and as far west as the Blue Mountains.

After a series of earthquakes in the Hunter region last August, the Coalition declared its proposed nuclear sites in the region would be abandoned if studies revealed unacceptable risks.

However, former deputy prime minister and local politician Barnaby Joyce played down the risks, saying that any nuclear facility would be built to withstand a quake far more intense than the one experienced on Wednesday.

“These things are designed for vastly bigger earthquakes than anything that has been experienced in the Hunter Valley,” he said. “And if you look at it, Bayswater [a coal-fired power station just south of Muswellbrook] is still standing this morning.”

In Iwaki,........

© The Sydney Morning Herald