Japan issues tsunami advisory for Iwate prefecture after Magnitude 6.8 earthquake
Japan issued an advisory for a possible tsunami of up to one metre (three feet) high after an earthquake in waters off Iwate.
Japan issued a tsunami advisory on Sunday for Iwate prefecture after an offshore earthquake of Magnitude 6.8, as per the USGS, struck a northern Pacific region.
The earthquake struck around 5:03 pm (local time) in waters off Iwate, prompting the advisory for a possible tsunami up to one metre (three feet) high, news agency AFP reported, citing Japan Meteorological Agency.
India’s National Center for Seismology (NCS) reported the quake at magnitude 6.6, at a depth of 30 km, located at 39.51° N latitude and 143.38° E longitude in the North Pacific Ocean.
"A tsunami advisory has been issued" for the Iwate coast, AFP reported, citing a Japan Meteorological Agency bulletin, warning that waves could approach at any moment.
Meanwhile, national broadcaster NHK said offshore tsunami waves have been observed and urged residents not to go near coastal areas. Live television feeds, however, showed calm seas.
The region is still haunted by the 2011 undersea quake, which measured 9.0 in magnitude and triggered a tsunami that left around 18,500 people dead or missing.
The same disaster also caused three reactors at the Fukushima nuclear plant to meltdown, marking Japan’s worst post-war disaster and the world’s worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.
Japan sits atop four major tectonic plates along the western edge of the Pacific “Ring of Fire” and is among the world’s most tectonically active nations.
The archipelago nation experiences about 1,500 earthquakes annually, most of which are mild, though damage varies depending on location and depth.
