Earthquake strikes Japan: Tsunami first waves hit coastline

Japan issued a major tsunami warning after a 7.5 earthquake struck country's central areas on Monday. The western coast witnessed tsunami waves of 50 centimeters a while after quakes hit, Xinhua news agency reported. Japanese public broadcaster NHK TV urged people to flee to high land or a top of a nearby building as torrents of water could reach as high as 5 metres.

Tokyo (Japan):A strong 7.5 earthquake struck central Japan on Monday, leading to tsunami warnings and authorities urging people in the affected area to flee to higher ground. Ishikawa Prefecture observed tsunami waves of more than 1.2 meters a while after quakes struck the country's western coast, local media reported.

Toyama prefecture on the western coast also reported tsunami waves of 50 centimeters at 4:23 p.m. local time, Xinhua news agency reported. Torrents of water could reach as high as 5 meters and authorities urged people to flee to high land or a top of a nearby building as quickly as possible, according to Japanese public broadcaster NHK TV. East Japan Railway Co. suspended operations of all Tohoku, Joetsu and Hokuriku Shinkansen lines due to the earthquakes, Kyodo News reported.

Hokuriku Electric Power Company said more than 36,000 houses are experiencing power outage. Japan Meterological Agency issued a major tsunami warning for Ishikawa and lower-level tsunami warnings or advisories for the rest of the western coast of the island of Honshu.

NHK said the tsunami waves could keep returning, and warnings were continuing to be aired nearly an hour after the initial alert. The government was set to hold a news conference later in the day. Reports of damage were not immediately available. A tsunami of about 3 metres high was expected to hit Niigata and other prefectures on the western coast of Japan. Smaller tsunami waves were already confirmed to have reached the coastline, according to NHK.

The area includes a nuclear plant. Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator, said it was checking for problems but there were no immediate reports of any irregularities. Japan is an extremely quake-prone nation. In March 2011, a major quake and tsunami caused meltdowns at a nuclear plant.

The Japanese government set up an emergency response office at the prime minister's office in Tokyo, it added. Tsunami warnings were issued for a broad swath of the country's western coast, including Ishikawa, Fukui, Niigata, Toyama, Yamagata and other prefectures.

According to the country's weather agency, the major temblor occurred at 4:10 p.m. local time (0710 GMT) at a shallow depth, registering a maximum 7 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale on the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture. It also shook buildings in central Tokyo. (with agency Inputs)

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