Tokyo, Dec 9: A powerful 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck late Monday off northern Japan, triggering a tsunami of up to 50 cm in Pacific coast communities and warnings of potentially higher surges, the Japanese Meteorological Agency said.Several people were injured, media reports said.
The quake struck in the Pacific Ocean about 80 km off the coast of Aomori, the northernmost prefecture of Japan’s main Honshu island, the agency said.
A tsunami of 50 cm was measured in Kuji port in Iwate prefecture, just south of Aomori, and tsunami levels of 40 to 50 cm struck other coastal communities in the region, the agency said.
The agency issued an alert for potential tsunami surges of up to 3 metres (10 feet) in some areas, and Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihar urged residents to immediately head to higher ground or take shelter inside buildings or evacuation centers until the alert is lifted.