Tsunami warning issued after powerful earthquake strikes Japan

A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.5 struck Japan on Monday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

TOKYO and LONDON -- Japanese officials issued a tsunami warning and evacuation warnings after a powerful earthquake struck the west coast on Monday afternoon.

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.5 struck at about 4:10 p.m. local time, with its epicenter on the Noto Peninsula, along the Sea of Japan, according to U.S. Geological Survey data.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said it measured the quake at a preliminary magnitude at 7.6, adding there had also been more than a dozen smaller ones, including aftershocks.

Japanese officials had issued a major tsunami warning for the peninsula and surrounding Ishikawa Prefecture before downgrading it about five hours later to a tsunami warning. The lesser warning said waves could be expected high as 3 meters, or about 10 feet, near the epicenter, down from 5 meters, or about 16 feet.

Authorities were urgently directing the population to move to higher ground. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's office issued a statement telling residents nearby to evacuate immediately. People were being urged not to go to the coast and to stay away from waterways.