Japan Cleared Of All Tsunami Advisories After Quake Off Russia Coast

TOKYO, July 31 (Bernama-Kyodo) -- The Japan Meteorological Agency on Thursday lifted the last remaining tsunami advisories issued after a magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula the previous day, Kyodo News Agency reported.

The agency had sent warnings for areas from Hokkaido in northern Japan to Wakayama Prefecture in the west, but they were downgraded to advisories on Wednesday night. Tsunami continued to reach the shores, with some locations seeing larger waves arrive on Thursday.

Some of the advisories were lifted Thursday morning, leaving those mainly covering the Pacific coasts of the northern main island of Hokkaido and northeastern Japan.

At least 10 locations recorded larger waves early on Thursday than on Wednesday, with Tokachi Port in Hokkaido and Oarai in Ibaraki Prefecture seeing tsunami as high as 70 centimetres.

The highest tsunami seen after the quake was a 1.3-metre wave observed at Kuji Port in Iwate Prefecture on Wednesday afternoon.

After the tsunami warnings were issued, a woman in her 50s in Mie Prefecture died while trying to evacuate, and 10 sustained injuries, according to the Japanese top government spokesman. Eleven evacuees were taken to hospital after they fell ill due to the high summer temperatures.

Some railway operations continued to be disrupted, with JR Hokkaido suspending services from the first train on some sections, while some residents on Hokkaido spent the night at evacuation centres.

Kayoko Nakajima, 76, was one of around a dozen people who sought refuge at a municipal office in Kushiro, Hokkaido.

"The floor was hard and cold, and I couldn't sleep well due to the noise," she recalled.

-- BERNAMA-KYODO