TOKYO: Small tsunami waves hit northern Japan early yesterday following a powerful 8.2-magnitude earthquake thousands of kilometres away across the Pacific Ocean in Chile after officials issued an evacuation advisory for certain areas.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said waves of 40 centimetres were monitored in Kuji, Iwate prefecture, at 7.39am about an hour after the first 20-centimetre tsunami was recorded there.
Waves of up to 30 centimetres were also monitored in other areas of northern Japan, the agency said, adding that bigger waves could hit the coast later.
Earlier yesterday, Japan issued a tsunami advisory, saying waves of up to one metre (three feet) above normal sea levels could hit eastern Pacific coast regions, but were unlikely to cause damage.
The advisory was lifted entirely at 6.00pm.
Large areas of the coastline covered by the advisory were damaged by the 2011 quake and tsunami that killed more than 18,000 people and triggered a nuclear accident in Fukushima.
AFP
