An 8.2 magnitude earthquake near the Philippines triggered a tsunami advisory across a wide swath of Japan’s Pacific coast on June 8 that was lifted at 4:50 p.m. but the public was warned of lingering risks.
“These conditions are likely to continue for about another day, so people should exercise extreme caution when working in the water or fishing,” the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
Small tsunami were recorded throughout the afternoon across Japan after the JMA issued the advisory shortly after 9 a.m warning of waves up to one meter.
A 20-centimeter wave reached the Futami area of Chichijima island in Tokyo’s Ogasawara island chain at 1:46 p.m., followed by waves of the same height at Fukuro Port in Wakayama Prefecture and Miyazaki Port in Miyazaki Prefecture.
A 10-cm wave was also measured in the Kumano area of Tanegashima island.
The alert prompted evacuation orders from coastal municipalities.
By 11 a.m., the Fire and Disaster Management Agency reported that 181,500 people in 95,961 households from Ibaraki to Okinawa prefectures were under evacuation orders.
The last such advisory for a quake near the Philippines was in December 2023, when a similar alert remained in place for about nine hours.
In response, the 11th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters deployed 39 patrol vessels and three aircraft to monitor the waters near Okinawa and warn ships.
Transportation was also disrupted, with the Tokyo Wan Ferry service between Kurihama Port in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Kanaya Port in Futtsu, Chiba Prefecture, was suspended, along with all four routes of the municipal ferry connecting the remote islands of Toba in Mie Prefecture.
AloJapan.com