Magnitude 7.6 earthquake strikes off Japan, triggers tsunami alert

A powerful magnitude 7.6 earthquake shook Japan’s northeast region late, prompting tsunami warnings and orders for residents to evacuate.

A tsunami as high as three metres (10 feet) could hit Japan’s northeastern coast after an earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 7.6 occurred offshore at 11:15pm (14:15 GMT), the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.

Tsunami warnings were issued for the prefectures of Hokkaido, Aomori and Iwate, and a tsunami of 40cm had been observed at Aomori’s Mutsu Ogawara and Hokkaido’s Urakawa ports before midnight, JMA said.

Several people were injured at a hotel in the Aomori town of Hachinohe, public broadcaster NHK reported.

The epicentre of the quake was 80 km (50 miles) off the coast of Aomori prefecture, at a depth of 50km (30 miles), the agency add