Magnitude 7.6 quake triggers a tsunami on Japan’s northern coast

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TOKYO — A powerful 7. 6-magnitude earthquake struck late Monday off northern Japan, triggering a tsunami of up to 27 inches 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 at about 11:15 p.m. in the Pacific Ocean about 50 miles off the coast of Aomori, the northernmost prefecture of Japan’s main Honshu island, the agency said.

A tsunami of 70 centimeters was measured in Kuji port in Iwate prefecture, just south of Aomori, and tsunami levels of up to 50 centimeters struck other coastal communities in the region, the agency said.

The agency issued an alert for potential tsunami surges of up to 10 feet in some area