Tsunami warning issued for Japan after 6.9 earthquake

Japanese broadcaster NHK said tsunami waves ranging in height from 30cm to 90cm have been observed in areas along the coast of Fukushima.

A 90cm wave was observed at Soma port and about 6.49am, a 60cm tsunami wave was observed at Onahama port in Iwaki. There are expectations of higher waves yet to come.

A 1m wave has reportedly washed towards the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

A tsunami warning for waves of up to three metres has been issued and this remains in place.

Residents in coastal areas have been urged to flee to higher ground or tall buildings.

There is also an advisory for northeastern and eastern Japan, where residents have been told to listen for warnings.

The US Geological Survey initially put Tuesday’s quake at a magnitude of 7.3 but downgraded it to 6.9. So far there have been reports of minor injuries.

An Australian living in Japan, Michael Di Stasio, told Channel 9 said he felt the “very long quake” 260km south in Tokyo.

#BREAKING: Moment the earthquake hit #Fukushima #Japen pic.twitter.com/Vo9cIzeVPz

— Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) November 21, 2016

He said the Japanese population had been “conditioned” to predict the next major quake.

“The big one comes, the big ones that do hit, you sort of say, ‘Is this it? Is this the really big one? How long is it going to go for?’ In these big metropolises like Tokyo, you are pretty well OK. The 2011 one shook severely in Tokyo, but, you know, I’m sure it was knocking people off their feet in Sendai and places north.

“But this one, it has been downgraded from 7.3 magnitude to 6.9. That is cold comfort to people in the [Fukushima] area.”

Mr Di Stasio said as many as 10 aftershocks had been felt since the earthquake hit.

“In 2011 we had a large one, then it got quiet for six hours and then a very large one came, the 9.1 magnitude,” he told Channel 9.

“So everybody is just wary. Most people have little evacuation kits somewhere in their home they can grab, spare batteries. I mean, this is just the way things are here on the land of the shaky land, as we call it.”

NHK also reported the water system cooling more than 2500 spent fuel rods in the number three reactor of the Fukushima Daini nuclear plant had stopped. But there seems to be enough water in the pools to keep the spent fuel rods cool and so there is no immediate danger at the power plant.

Even when in shutdown nuclear plants need cooling systems operating to keep spent fuel cool.

The Japan Meteorological Agency says the quake struck about 6am local time at a depth of 10 kilometres.

The earthquake shook buildings in Tokyo, 240 kilometres southwest of the epicentre.

Kureha chemical factory in Iwaki was on fire but has now been extinguished.

Fukushima prefecture is north of Tokyo and home to the nuclear power plant that was destroyed by a huge tsunami following an offshore earthquake in 2011 that killed about 18,000 people.

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