Tokyo: Tsunami waves of several centimetres to around 20 cm have been observed along Japan’s Pacific coast as well as other parts of the country after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck off the southern Philippines on Monday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
The weather agency issued tsunami advisories for coastal areas stretching from Ibaraki Prefecture on Japan’s eastern Pacific coast to the island prefecture of Okinawa in the south on Monday morning, reports Xinhua news agency.
According to the agency, tsunami waves measuring around 20 cm have been observed at Chichijima Island of the Ogasawara Islands, located south of Tokyo, as well as in Kushimoto Town in Wakayama Prefecture and at Miyazaki Port in Miyazaki Prefecture.
Multiple other locations in the prefectures of Kagoshima, Mie, and Miyazaki recorded waves of around 10 cm. Minor tsunami waves were also reported in Okinawa and elsewhere.
As of 4:50 p.m. local time, all tsunami advisories have been lifted.
Over 195,000 people in 10 prefectures, including Chiba, Kochi and Okinawa, were urged to evacuate at one point, Kyodo News reported, citing the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
Meanwhile, Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) on Monday lifted its tsunami warning, hours after ordering evacuations of northern coastal areas threatened by tsunami waves following the Philippines earthquake.
In a statement, BMKG said the tsunami warning status ended after observations showed that sea level conditions had returned to normal.
On Monday morning, minor tsunami waves were detected at several coastal monitoring stations in northern Indonesia, the agency added.
The powerful earthquake in the Philippines has caused panic among residents in some coastal areas of northeastern Indonesia, local media reported on Monday. The tremor was felt across various cities and villages, but there have been no immediate reports of casualties.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said a magnitude 7.8 offshore earthquake hit waters in the southern Philippines on Monday morning. In response, Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency has issued a tsunami warning for the country’s northeastern coastal areas.
(IANS)
