A powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck off Japan’s northeast coast on Monday, prompting tsunami warnings and evacuations in coastal areas. The epicenter of the quake was about 62 miles east-northeast of Miyako, off the coast of Sanriku, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
It happened around 4:53 p.m. local time (3:53 a.m. EDT), and tsunami warnings were issued for Iwate Prefecture, the central Pacific coastal area of Hokkaido Prefecture and the coastal area of Aomori Prefecture. There was a 5.6 aftershock less than an hour after the main quake. Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi urged people in the warning zones to immediately evacuate and seek higher ground.
A tsunami of about 2.6 feet was detected at the Kuji port in the Iwate Prefecture, and a smaller tsunami of 1.3 feet was recorded at another port in the prefecture, Japan’s meteorological agency said. The agency urged residents in the region to immediately stay away from the coast or along rivers and take shelter on higher ground. It also cautioned people in the area against possible aftershocks for about a week. On social media, there are reports that train service was suspended as earthquake alerts sounded. This post on X said the emergency brake was pulled and the train stopped inside a tunnel.
Pots and pans inside a ramen restaurant in Yamagata swayed and shook as the quake struck.
The Iwate Prefecture issued non-binding evacuation advisories to residents in 11 towns, according to reporting from the Associated Press.
Another 7.6 magnitude quake on Dec. 8 happened just 85 miles away from Monday’s quake, reports the USGS.
The agency also noted that Monday’s earthquake occurred about 120 miles north of the 2011 deadly earthquake and tsunami that devastated parts of northern Japan. The magnitude 9.0 quake and tsunami on March 11, caused more than 22,000 deaths and forced nearly half a million people to flee their homes, most of them due to tsunami damage.
Some 160,000 people fled their homes in Fukushima because of the radiation spewed from the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. About 26,000 of them haven’t returned because they resettled elsewhere, their hometowns remain off-limits or they have lingering concerns about radiation.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
