A 3-meter (9.8-foot) tsunami warning has been issued for Japan after a strong magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Tohoku, the Japan Meteorological Agency and the U.S. Geological Survey said.
The Japan Meteorological Agency has issued a 3-meter tsunami warning for parts of Iwate, Hokkaido, and Aomori prefectures. It issued a warning that a tsunami of up to 1 meter (3.3 feet) is expected in other parts of northeastern Japan.
The US Tsunami Warning System reported that the earthquake, which occurred off the east coast of Japan’s Honshu island, had a magnitude of 7.4. The tsunami threat was issued at 8:52 UTC (4:52 a.m. ET). Japanese government agencies revised the number to a magnitude of 7.5, but it is unclear why the numbers are inconsistent.
So far, all tsunami measurements are well below the issued warning level. A 0.8 meter (2.6 foot) tsunami hit Kuji Port in Iwate Prefecture, and Japanese state broadcaster NHK reported that water levels were still rising. Another 0.4 meter (1.3 foot) tsunami hit Miyako Port in Iwate Prefecture.
A CNN producer on the ground in Tokyo reported feeling the building shaking for about seven minutes.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called on residents in the affected areas to evacuate immediately and said the government had set up an emergency response headquarters.
“Residents in areas where a tsunami warning has been issued should immediately evacuate to safer places such as higher ground or evacuation buildings,” Takaichi said at a press conference on Monday.
Takaichi said authorities are “doing their best to assess the damage situation, implement emergency disaster response measures such as search and rescue operations, and provide timely and accurate information to the public.” “We are currently confirming the extent of human and property damage, but we will receive detailed reports in the near future and proceed with disaster response.”
The company that operates the Shinkansen that runs between Tokyo and Shin-Aomori Station has announced that the train has been suspended due to a power outage caused by the earthquake, NHK reported. In northern Japan, trains between Akita Station and Morioka Station have also been suspended. According to NHK, all local trains in Iwate Prefecture have been suspended.
TEPCO said in a statement that workers at the Fukushima Daiichi and Fukushima Daini nuclear power plants were evacuated, but no abnormalities were detected. The company also said there were no abnormalities at the Onagawa nuclear power plant and the Higashidori nuclear power plant to the north, and that levels of radioactive material remained within normal limits.
Japan is one of the countries with the most earthquakes in the world. The region is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, which experiences intense seismic and volcanic activity on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. Japan’s worst earthquake in recent history was the 2011 magnitude 9.1 Tohoku earthquake, which caused a massive tsunami and nuclear disaster.
This is a developing story and is being updated.
