A preliminary major 7.4 magnitude earthquake shook the Tohoku region in Japan at 4:53 pm local time on Monday. Sanriku Coast was identified as the epicentre, as the quake struck at a depth of 10 kilometres, according to the the Japan Meteorological Agency.
The country’s NHK news agency sounded the alarm about tsunami warnings being issued for parts of Japan’s northeast in the wake of the tremors.
Shortly after advisories attracted attention, Japan updated the earthquake recording to magnitude 7.5. Shockwaves were felt as far as the country’s capital, Tokyo, where buildings shook for several minutes.
Tsunami warnings issued after Japan earthquake
The earthquake that struck off the coast of Japan was registered as 5+ on a scale of zero to 7 on the Asian country’s own seismic scale. With advisories being issued, coastal areas have been warned and people have been told to evacuate immediately.
At the time of writing, the country’s meteorological agency said that tsunami waves are estimated to hit part of the country’s coast in less than 30 minutes. These could be as tall as 3 metres. Areas expected to be the worst-hit include the central Pacific Hokkaido coast, the Aomori prefecture coast and the Iwate prefecture coast.
While broadcasting on TV, an NHK anchor was seen urging local residents in Japan to move to higher ground. “Tsunami! Evacuate!” flashed on the Japanese channel in English for viewers who don’t speak Japanese. “Don’t turn back.”
This is a developing story.