Magnitude 8.8 Quake Off Russia Prompts Japan Tsunami Warning; 50 Cm Waves Detected

TOKYO, July 30 (Bernama-Kyodo) -- Japan on Wednesday issued a tsunami warning for the country's Pacific coast after a magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula in the morning, with waves of up to 50 centimetres (cm) recorded in parts of northern and eastern Japan, Kyodo News Agency reported.

The warning disrupted railway and air services along the coast and led the operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to halt the release of treated radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean.

The Japan Meteorological Agency has warned of tsunami waves of up to 3 metres reaching areas stretching from Hokkaido in northern Japan to Wakayama Prefecture in the west and the Ogasawara Islands in the south. The warning could remain in effect for the entire day, the agency said.

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A 50 cm-tsunami was recorded at Ishinomaki Port in Miyagi Prefecture at 11.51 am, while a 40 cm-wave was detected in Oarai, Ibaraki Prefecture, at 11.38 am.

Tsunami waves of up to 30 cm were observed in Nemuro and Kushiro, eastern Hokkaido, and Ofunato and Kamaishi in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba vowed to take all possible measures to ensure the safety of the public, ordering ministries and agencies to mitigate any damage from the tsunami.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told a hastily arranged press conference that the government is confirming the situation, while calling on people in areas covered by the warning to evacuate to higher ground.

The quake occurred at 8.24 am around 120 kilometres east-southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky at a depth of about 20 km, according to the United States Geological Survey.

Tsunami waves measuring up to 4 metres were detected off southeastern Kamchatka, with several people injured, according to Russia's Tass news agency.

The quake registered 2 on Japan's seismic intensity scale of 7 in Hokkaido, the Japanese weather agency said.

The Japanese Defence Ministry dispatched patrol and fighter aircraft to the Pacific coast to gather information.

The tsunami warning prompted Sendai airport in Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan, to close its runways, while JR East and JR Central halted train services near coastal areas.

JR Hokkaido also suspended services on the Hidaka and Senmo lines, with passengers and crew evacuating from trains.

At the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex, which is undergoing decommissioning following the 2011 quake-tsunami disaster, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. instructed workers to evacuate.

-- BERNAMA-KYODO