Japan earthquake: 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck Miyazaki Prefecture in southern Japan on Monday evening local time.
The tsunami has already reached Miyazaki and parts of Kochi Prefecture.The magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck Miyazaki Prefecture, and the hardest-hit areas were below magnitude 5 on the Japanese scale of 0 to 7.
The Japan Meteorological Agency has issued tsunami advisories for Miyazaki and Kochi Prefectures.The tsunami has already reached these regions.
A 20 cm tsunami was observed in Miyazaki, while a 10 cm tsunami was reported in Kochi.Officials are urging people to avoid coastal areas.
The agency says an expert panel is investigating possible links between this powerful quake and a larger earthquake expected to hit the Nankai Trough in the sea off central to southwestern Japan.
According to the latest government estimates, in a worst-case scenario, the Nankai Trough earthquake could kill more than 230,000 people and destroy nearly 2 million buildings.
