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A powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck off northern Japan on Monday, prompting the Japan Meteorological Agency to issue a tsunami warning for waves of up to 3 meters.
A 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck off the Pacific coast of northern Iwate Prefecture on Monday at 4:53 p.m. local time (0753 GMT), Japan's Meteorological Agency said.
The agency issued a tsunami warning for waves of up to 3 meters for Hokkaido's central Pacific coast, Aomori Prefecture's Pacific coast and Iwate Prefecture, while issuing tsunami advisories for additional coastal areas including Miyagi, Fukushima and parts of Hokkaido.
Japan's Meteorological Agency issued a full tsunami warning, the higher-tier alert, for three coastal zones with estimated wave heights of 3 meters:
Hokkaido's central Pacific coast, with the first waves expected to arrive at 11:30 a.m. Monday at Urakawa Town (high tide at 12:17), Tokachi Port (11:40 arrival, high tide 12:12) and Shono in Erimo Town (11:30 arrival, high tide 11:58).
Aomori Prefecture's Pacific coast, with waves expected at 11:20 a.m. at Mutsuogawara Port (high tide 12:10), 11:30 at Hachinohe Port (high tide 12:09) and 11:40 at Mutsu City's Sekinehama (high tide 11:56).
Iwate Prefecture, with waves expected at 11:10 a.m. at Miyako and Kamaishi (both with high tides at 12:19–12:23), 11:20 at Ofunato and Kuji Port (high tide 12:12–12:23), with one location, Iwate Prefecture, showing an arrival estimate as late as Tuesday, May 1 at 0:00.
A tsunami advisory, the lower-tier alert, was issued for: Hokkaido's eastern Pacific coast (waves 11:30, 1m), Hokkaido's western Pacific coast (11:30, 1m), Aomori Prefecture's Sea of Japan coast (12:00, 1m), Miyagi Prefecture (11:20, 1m) and Fukushima Prefecture (11:50, 1m).
Japan's Meteorological Agency issued the following public warning:
"Tsunami waves are approaching the coasts. Evacuate as quickly as possible. Waves can hit repeatedly. Continue to evacuate until all warnings are lifted. People in the affected areas must evacuate immediately. Escape to a higher, safe location right away. The time of the tsunami's arrival is just an estimate. Waves could actually arrive sooner or later. Waves can get much higher than expected."
For advisory zones: "If you are in the affected areas, keep away from coasts and river mouths which could overflow. Continue to evacuate until all advisories are lifted."
The quake was strong enough to shake large buildings in Tokyo, hundreds of kilometers from the epicenter, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
The earthquake struck in the Pacific waters off Iwate prefecture at 4:53 p.m. local time, initially measured at 7.4 before being revised upward to 7.7.
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