The Japan Meteorological Agency has lifted all tsunami advisories in place for a huge stretch of Japan’s Pacific coast after Wednesday’s powerful earthquake off Russia’s Far East.
The advisories came after a powerful earthquake struck near Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on Wednesday morning.
The magnitude 8.7 quake struck off Russia’s Far East at about 8:25 a.m. Japan time. The US Geological Survey says it had a depth of 20.7 kilometers.
Just over an hour later, the JMA issued tsunami warnings for areas along the Pacific coast from northern Hokkaido to western Wakayama Prefecture.
The first tsunami was recorded in eastern Hokkaido around 10:30 a.m. By 8:45 p.m., all warnings had been changed to advisories.
The highest recorded waves of about 1.3 meters were observed in Kuji, Iwate Prefecture before 2 p.m.
Many people evacuated to higher ground after the warnings. The Japanese government says more than 2 million people across the country were given instructions to evacuate at one point.
Police in Mie Prefecture say a 58-year-old woman was killed when the car she was in fell from a cliff-side road. The area was under a tsunami warning. Officials say they believe she was trying to get to a safe zone.
AloJapan.com