A 7.4-magnitude earthquake has struck off the coast of Japan, sparking warnings of tsunami waves as high as 3 metres.
The strong quake erupted off the northeastern coast of Japan on Monday afternoon local time, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
Officials are warning of tsunami waves as tall as 3 metres could hit the Iwate prefecture and parts of Hokkaido.
The NERV Disaster Prevention app warned locals that the tsunami has already been observed 60km off the coast, adding ‘immediate evacuation is necessary’.
The earthquake was so strong people in Tokyo reported the capital ‘shook quite a bit’.
The tremor had an epicentre in the Pacific Ocean and was 10 km deep, according to the JMA.
Earthquakes with a magnitude between 7.0 and 7.9 are considered major and could cause serious damage, according to Michigan Tech university.
Tokyo-Aomori bullet train halted its operations after the earthquake, which measured an’upper 5′ on Japan’s seismic intensity scale.