Tokyo — A powerful earthquake struck off the northern Japanese coast Monday, prompting the Japan Meteorological Agency to issue a tsunami alert in the region.
The quake registering a preliminary magnitude of 7.4 occurred off the coast of Sanriku in northern Japan at around 4:53 p.m. (2:53 a.m. Eastern on Sunday), at a depth of about 6 miles below the sea surface, the agency said.
Japan’s NHK public television said a tsunami of up to 10 feet could hit the area shortly.