Japan has warned torrents of water could reach as high as 5 metres (16.5 feet) and urged people to flee to high land or the top of a nearby building as quickly as possible.
Japan has issued tsunami alerts after several earthquakes, including a powerful 7.5 magnitude quake, hit central Japan on Monday, The earthquakes caused damage in several areas. The country told people to evacuate seaside areas. The Japan Meteorological Agency has issued a major tsunami warning for Ishikawa and lower-level tsunami warnings or advisories for the rest of the western coast of Japan's main island of Honshu.
Japanese public broadcaster NHK TV warned torrents of water could reach as high as 5 metres (16.5 feet) and urged people to flee to high land or the top of a nearby building as quickly as possible.
NHK said the tsunami waves could keep returning, and warnings were continuing to be aired more than two hours after the initial alert. Several aftershocks also rocked the region. A tsunami of about 3 metres (about 10 feet) high was 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.
Japanese news footage showed reddish smoke spewing from an area in Wajima city, Ishikawa Prefecture, noting there could be a fire there. Details were not immediately available. Bullet trains in the area were halted. Parts of the highway were also closed, and water pipes had burst, according to NHK. The Meteorological Agency said in a nationally broadcast news conference that more major quakes could hit the area over the next week, especially in the next two or three days.
LIVE Updates:
3:00 pm: Japan issues another earthquake warning to Ishikawa, Niigata and Toyama, Nagano prefectures.
3:15 pm: Embassy of India in Japan issues emergency contact numbers for Indian citizens
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 "Japan Earthquake Live Updates: More powerful earthquakes could hit country, tsunamis can continue for next 1-2 days")
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