Japan issued a tsunami advisory on Sunday after a magnitude-6.7 offshore earthquake struck near the Iwate coast, prompting authorities to warn residents to stay away from the shoreline as the first small waves were recorded.
The tremor, which struck at 5.03pm local time in waters off Iwate Prefecture, triggered an alert for waves up to one metre high. Officials cautioned that the first surges could reach the coast almost immediately, urging people in low-lying areas to move to higher ground.
Public broadcaster footage showed calm seas in the immediate aftermath, though instruments confirmed minor offshore wave activity. Emergency agencies said they were monitoring the coastline for further changes.
Also read: 7.6-magnitude quake hits Philippines; tsunami warning issued
Northern Japan remains acutely sensitive to seismic activity following the catastrophic 2011 earthquake and tsunami that killed or left missing about 18,500 people and triggered meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, the country’s worst post-war disaster.
Japan sits atop multiple tectonic plates at the western edge of the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, making it one of the most seismically active regions in the world. The archipelago records roughly 1,500 tremors each year.
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