Powerful 7.6 magnitude earthquake in Japan prompts tsunami alerts

More than 100,000 people have been evacuated out of the worst-affected areas, ITV News Correspondent Neil Connery reports

Japan has issued tsunami alerts on Monday after a series of strong earthquakes.

The Japan Meterological Agency reported a quake hitting Ishikawa and nearby prefectures in the west, one of them measuring a preliminary magnitude of 7.6.

It issued a major tsunami warning for Ishikawa and lower-level tsunami warnings or advisories for the rest of the northwestern coast of the island of Honshu. The highest-level alerts were then lowered later in the day.

Japanese public broadcaster NHK TV warned torrents of water could reach as high as five meters (16.5 feet) and urged people to flee to high land or a top of a nearby building as quickly as possible.

This warning was then downgraded after several hours, but waters could still reach up to three metres (10 feet).

NHK said the tsunami waves could keep returning, with aftershocks likely to continue to hit the area over the next couple of days.

Government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters that nuclear plants in the area had not reported any irregularities.

But he said it was critical for people in coastal areas to get away from the oncoming tsunami.

“Every minute counts. Please evacuate to a safe area immediately,” he said.

The Japanese government has set up a special emergency center to gather information on the quakes and tsunami and relay them speedily to residents to ensure safety, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters.

A tsunami of about three meters high is 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.

Japanese media footage showed people running through the streets, and red smoke spewing from a fire in a residential neighborhood.

Photos showed a crowd of people, including a woman with a baby on her back, standing by huge cracks that had ripped through the pavement.

Takashi Wakabayashi, a worker at a convenience store in Ishikawa Prefecture, said some items had tumbled from the shelves, but the biggest problem was the huge crowd of people who had shown up to stock up on bottled water, rice balls and bread.

“We have customers at three times the level of usual,” he said.

At least six homes were damaged by the quakes, with people trapped inside.

A fire has broken out in Wajima city, Ishikawa Prefecture, and electricity is out for more than 30,000 households, Hayashi said.

He said no reports of deaths or injuries had been confirmed, saying the situation was still unclear.

Japan's military was taking part in the rescue efforts, he said.

Tsunami warnings were also issued for parts of North Korea and Russia.

Russian officials issued a tsunami alert for the island of Sakhalin, warning that areas across the island’s west coast could be affected by the waves.

Japan is an extremely quake-prone nation. In March 2011, a major quake and tsunami caused meltdowns at a nuclear plant.

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