Quake, tsunami hit Japan; tsunami warning in northern Luzon

Friday, 11 March 2011 15:12 Fidelis Angela Tan

A magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck the northeastern coast of Japan on Friday, followed by a tsunami.

Reports over Twitter have raised the alarm that a tsunami may strike northeastern Luzon by 5:30 p.m. local time.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has raised a level 2 tsunami alert in 19 provinces on the country's eastern coast:

Batanes Islands
Cagayan
Ilocos Norte
Isabela
Quezon
Aurora
Camarines Norte
Camarines Sur
Albay
Catanduanes
Sorsogon
Northern Samar
Eastern Samar
Leyte
Northern Leyte
Surigao del Norte
Surigao del Sur
Davao Oriental
Davao del Sur

In Japan, the quake caused a tsunami which swept into Onahama City in Fukushima prefecture, engulfing buildings and washing cars out into the harbor.

The quake earlier prompted the raising of a tsunami warning in Japan, Russia, Marcus Island and the Northern Marianas.

A tsunami watch has also been issued for Guam, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia and the US state of Hawaii.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said that the quake struck at 2:46 p.m., at a depth of 10 kilometers, about 80 miles (125 kilometers) off Japan’s eastern coast, in an area 240 miles (380 kilometers) northeast of Tokyo.

Violent tremors were reported in Tokyo, causing fires and injuries.

The US Geological Survey also issued its top-level evacuation alerts for the entire Japanese coast, warning of a tsunami of up to six metres (20 feet) high.

Other earthquakes

Several quakes have rocked the region over the past few days, including another 7.3 magnitude quake which struck Japan on Wednesday.

In the Philippines, a 5.1 magnitude quake struck the province of Mindoro at around 3:15 a.m. According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), the epicenter was 5 km east of Lubang Island at a depth of 101 km. No injuries or damages were reported.

This was preceded by a magnitude 5.4 earthquake in Yingjiang county in China late on Thursday, which resulted in 250 injuries and 25 deaths.

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