TOKYO — 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 10 km 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.The Japan Meteorological Agency initially issued a three-meter tsunami warning for the Iwate prefecture and parts of Hokkaido and Aomori – later downgraded to an advisory. It also issued an advisory in other areas of northeastern Japan, estimating a tsunami of up to one meter (3.3 feet). The agency also warned that aftershocks of a similar magnitude could happen in the coming week.So far, observations of tsunami waves are all well below the warning level that was issued. One 0.8-meter (2.6-foot) tsunami has struck Kuji Port in Iwate Prefecture, where NHK has reported the water is still rising. Another 0.4-meter (1.3-foot) tsunami hit Miyako Port in Iwate Prefecture.The US Tsunami Warning System reported that the magnitude of the earthquake off the east coast of Honshu, Japan, was 7.4. The tsunami threat was issued at 8:52 UTC (4:52 a.m. ET). Japan’s national agency later revised its figure up to 7.7 magnitude, although it’s unclear why there is a discrepancy in the numbers.Japan’s disaster management agency said it had issued evacuation orders to 171,957 people in five prefectures.No injuries or damage to homes has been recorded as of yet, chief cabinet secretary Minoru Kihara said in an update Monday evening local time, but the situation is still being assessed. Kihara added that there are 200 power outages across the impacted areas and authorities are working to restore service.Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has urged residents in affected areas to evacuate immediately and said the government had set up an emergency task force.“Residents in areas where tsunami warnings have been issued should immediately evacuate to higher ground or safer locations such as evacuation buildings,” Takaichi told reporters in a news briefing on Monday, shortly after the earthquake.Authorities are doing their “utmost to assess the damage, implement emergency disaster response measures such as search and rescue operations, and provide timely and accurate information to the public,” Takaichi said. “At this time, we are still confirming the extent of human and material damage, but we will receive detailed reports shortly and proceed with disaster response efforts.”She later warned of the possibility of further advisories due to potential aftershocks off the coast of Hokkaido and Sanriku.The operator of the bullet train service that runs between Tokyo and Shin-Aomori station said the train had been suspended due to a power outage caused by the earthquake, NHK reported. Train services have also been suspended between Akita Station and Morioka Station in northern Japan. All local trains in Iwate prefecture have halted services, according to NHK.Tokyo Electric Power Company said in a statement that no abnormalities have been detected at its Fukushima Daiichi and Fukushima Daini nuclear power plants, although it has evacuated workers. The Tohoku Electric Power Company said that its Onagawa nuclear plant and Higashidori nuclear plant further north have also not experienced abnormalities, with radioactive material levels still within normal range.Japan is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world. It lies on the Ring of Fire, an area of intense seismic and volcanic activity on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. The worst quake in recent Japanese history was the 9.1-magnitude Tohoku earthquake in 2011, which triggered a major tsunami and nuclear disaster.
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