Tsunamis observed in Japan after Kamchatka Quake

A 1.3-meter-high tsunami was observed at 1.52 pm at a port in Kuji, Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan.

By 7.45 pm, tsunamis of 80 centimetres were observed in the city of Nemuro in the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido, the city of Hachinohe in Aomori Prefecture, north of Iwate, and on the Tokyo island of Hachijojima.

Tsunamis of 70 centimetres arrived at the cities of Ishinomaki and Sendai in Miyagi Prefecture, which neighbours Iwate to the south, the town of Soma in Fukushima Prefecture, south of Miyagi, and the island of Tanegashima in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan.

The Japan Meteorological Agency issued tsunami warnings at 9.40 am to many areas facing the Pacific Ocean, spanning from Hokkaido to the Kii Peninsula in western Japan, as well as Tokyo's Izu and Ogasawara islands. The agency said that the tsunami height may reach up to 3 meters.

All warnings were downgraded to advisories by 8.45 pm.

According to the agency, large tsunamis are expected to continue for about a day, based on past cases of tsunamis caused by large earthquakes that occurred near Japan.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said that there have been no reports of damage to key infrastructure or nuclear power stations.

In Kumano, Mie Prefecture, central Japan, a 58-year-old woman driving a minivehicle fell off a cliff at about 10.10 am and was confirmed dead three hours later. Prefectural police are investigating the incident, saying that she had contacted her family shortly before the accident and suggested they evacuate to higher ground above the cliff.

Additionally, a woman in Shiraoi, Hokkaido, sustained minor injuries while evacuating.

The JMA said that the earthquake had an estimated magnitude of 8.7, while the US Geological Survey put the estimated magnitude at 8.8.

The Japanese agency initially issued tsunami advisories past 8.35 am, based on an initial estimate of a magnitude of 8.0. It upgraded them to warnings after revising the estimated magnitude.

It has newly issued tsunami advisories to areas facing the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan in Hokkaido, the Sea of Japan side of Aomori, Tokyo Bay areas, Pacific coastal areas of the Shikoku western and Kyushu southwestern regions, and coastal areas of the Amami region of southwestern Japan and the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa.

At a separate press conference, Masashi Kiyomoto, senior coordinator for earthquake and tsunami risk reduction at the meteorological agency, urged people in coastal areas and near rivers to "evacuate to higher ground immediately."

Noting that tsunamis tend to strike repeatedly, Kiyomoto asked people to remain in safe places until the agency lifts the tsunami warnings and advisories.

Following the earthquake near the Kamchatka Peninsula, temblors measuring 2 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale were observed in the Hokkaido city of Kushiro and other locations. Quakes with an intensity of 1 were observed in many places from Hokkaido to Kyushu.

The government set up a liaison office at the crisis management centre of the prime minister's office.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba instructed government staff to work as one on minimising tsunami damage while putting people's lives first.

"I ask people in areas subject to the tsunami warnings to immediately move to higher ground, buildings designated for evacuation or other places that are safe, and stay at the locations until the warnings are lifted," he said.

 [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]