People in affected areas urged to evacuate as quake registering 7.5 magnitude occurred off the coast of Sanriku
A powerful earthquake has struck off the northern Japanese coast, and the Japan Meteorological Agency has issued a tsunami alert in the region.
The quake registering a preliminary magnitude of 7.4 occurred off the coast of Sanriku in northern Japan at around 4:53 p.m. (0753 GMT), at a depth of about 10km (6 miles) below the sea surface, the agency said.
Japan’s NHK public television said a tsunami of up to 3 meters (10 feet) could hit the area shortly.
Authorities in Japan are urging people living near the country’s north-east coast to evacuate to higher ground after a magnitude 7.5 earthquake triggered a tsunami alert, writes our Tokyo correspondent, Justin McCurry, with waves forecast to reach heights of three metres.
