JAPANESE AUTHORITIES have urged people in coastal areas to evacuate to higher ground, as seismologists warn of further tsunamis of up to three metres in height.
The new series of tsunamis are expected after a series of further aftershocks off the country’s eastern coast – the most of recent of which struck at 9:40am Irish time, measuring 5.1 on the Richter Scale.
That quake occurred around 15 miles below the surface, off the east coast of the Honshu prefecture.
At least three other quakes have been observed in the last hour; another, also about 15 miles below the surface and measuring 4.9, was measured to the south of the first, while another two quakes have occurred about 150 miles west of Sendo on the east coast.
Records from the US Geological Survey, considered to be the world’s foremost authority on seismic activity, showed that 231 earthquakes had been registered in the waters off Japan in the last seven days.
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