SENDAI, Japan — A magnitude 7.6 earthquake centered in the Pacific Ocean some 45 miles west of Misawa, Japan, shook the northern part of the archipelago around 11:15 p.m. local time on Monday, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
The quake was estimated to be nearly 33 miles below the surface, according to the USGS.
Japan's Prime Minister announced Tuesday that at least 30 people were hurt, and the quake caused one residential fire.
Japan's government issued a tsunami warning in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, covering parts of the eastern coast of Honshu and Hokkiado, and some prefectures issued coastal evacuation orders.
Japan's cabinet official in charge of disaster preparedness said Tuesday that there is a possibility of a large-scale magnitude 8.0 or higher earthquake along the Japan Trench and the Chishima Trench off Hokkaido, near where Monday's quake occurred, although he stipulated there's no specific data that would suggest that such an earthquake is imminent.
Japan's Meteorological Agency (JMA) initially said it expected waves up to 9 feet in height for some prefectures closest to the epicenter. JMA has observed tsunami wave heights as high as 2.2 feet.
A tsunami advisory was issued for Fukushima Prefecture, the site of the March 2011 earthquake-caused nuclear reactor disaster.
USGS confirmed a magnitude 5.5 aftershock roughly 15 minutes after the initial quake.
Another aftershock occurred at around 7:15 a.m. local time with a magnitude of 6.7.
One of Japan's high speed railway lines announced that service was suspended due to the quake.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no threat to Hawaii from the magnitude 7.6 quake. The National Weather Service (NWS) office in Guam confirmed there was no threat to Guam or the greater Mariana Islands Archipelago, which are roughly 1,500 miles southeast of Japan.
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