Japan observes tiny tsunami following 6.9-magnitude quake

Tokyo: Tiny tsunami waves hit Japan s northern Pacific coast on Sunday after an offshore earthquake, the national weather service said. The first t...

Tokyo: Tiny tsunami waves hit Japan's northern Pacific coast on Sunday after an offshore earthquake, the national weather service said.

The first tsunami hit the northern city of Miyako at 5:37 pm (0837 GMT), but it was so small that the Japan Meteorological Agency said it could not measure its size.

Later, ports in Kuji and Ofunato, located in the same region, saw waves as high as 20 centimetres (less than eight inches), while smaller waves reached other ports in Iwate, the meteorological agency said.

The quake struck around 5:03 pm (0803 GMT) in waters off Iwate, according to the Japanese agency which initially estimated its strength at magnitude 6.7 but later revised it to 6.9.

The US Geological Survey measured the quake as magnitude 6.8.