Overview
- The offshore earthquake, which struck Monday near Sanriku off Iwate at a shallow depth of about 10 kilometers, registered a preliminary magnitude between 7.4 and 7.7.
- JMA first warned of waves up to 3 meters, but measured surges peaked at 0.8 meters in Kuji and the agency later lifted the tsunami alert while keeping advisories from Hokkaido to Fukushima.
- Local governments urged or ordered evacuations for roughly 170,000 people Monday, and rail operators halted some Shinkansen and other lines for safety checks as brief power cuts were logged.
- Nuclear regulators and plant operators, including TEPCO at Fukushima Daiichi and Daini, reported no abnormal radiation and evacuated some staff as a precaution, and local media counted at least one injury in Aomori.
- Japan’s Cabinet Office and meteorological agency said there is about a 1% chance of a much larger quake in the coming week and asked coastal residents to stay ready and avoid shorelines until advisories end.