A strong offshore earthquake struck northern Japan on Monday afternoon, triggering tsunami warnings for coastal areas of Iwate, Hokkaido, Miyagi and Aomori, as authorities urged residents to evacuate immediately to higher ground.
The earthquake, estimated at magnitude 7.7, occurred beneath the seabed at a shallow depth of about 20 kilometres at 4:53 p.m. local time. The epicentre was located off the Sanriku coast, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).
Tsunami advisories have been issued for the coastal areas of Hokkaido, Aomori, Iwate and Miyagi, with waves of up to one metre or less impacting parts of the northern coastline.
Authorities in Japan have urged people living near the country’s north-east coast to evacuate to higher ground, The Guardian reported.
The tsunami warning warrants an immediate response but does not approach the severity of the 2011 Tōhoku disaster, the report cited Dr Ioannis Karmpadakis, Associate Professor of Coastal Engineering at Imperial College London, as saying.
