Powerful quake jolts northwest Japan, tsunami warning issued

A powerful earthquake jolted northwestern Japan on Tuesday night and officials warned of a tsunami up to one meter (3.3 feet) high along parts of the coast. Japan’s Meteorological Agency said the quake registered a magnitude of 6.8 and was located off the western coast of Yamagata about 50km (30 miles) southwest of the city of Sakata.

It said the quake was fairly shallow, about 10km (6 miles) below the sea’s surface. Shallow quakes tend to cause more damage on the Earth’s surface.

The agency predicted a tsunami as high as 1 meter (yard) along the coast of the northwestern prefectures of Yamagata, Niigata and Ishikawa.