A tsunami advisory issued Monday for Japanese coastal areas stretching from Ibaraki Prefecture to Okinawa Prefecture after a large earthquake struck near the Philippines was lifted at 4:50 p.m.
The quake struck at around 8:37 a.m, off the coast near the island of Mindanao, with a magnitude of 8.2, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).
The agency said tsunami waves of up to 1 meter are possible in Japan, with the earliest possible impact reaching Miyakojima by 11 a.m.
The advisory had been issued for coastal areas in Ibaraki, Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Shizuoka, Aichi, Mie, Wakayama, Kochi, Miyazaki, Kagoshima and Okinawa prefectures. Evacuation orders were issued across the country for those in affected areas.
According to the JMA, a 20-centimeter tsunami was observed at 1:46 p.m. on the island of Chichijima in the Ogasawara islands.
A 10-cm tsunami was recorded at 1:21 p.m. in Kumano, Tanegashima, Kagoshima Prefecture.
Smaller tsunamis measuring a few centimeters were observed at Nakagusuku Bay Port in Okinawa city at 12:58 p.m.; Kominato on Amami Oshima at 1:19 p.m.; Ishigaki Port on Ishigaki Island at 1:26 p.m.; Nachikatsuura in Wakayama Prefecture at 1:31 p.m.; Miyako Island in Okinawa Prefecture at 1:36 p.m.; Kumano’s Yuki district in Mie Prefecture at 2:14 p.m.; Owase in Mie Prefecture at 2:21 p.m.; and Kubura on Yonaguni Island at 2:21 p.m.
Separately, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a warning of waves of up to 3 meters in the Philippines and up to 1 meter in Malaysia, but withdrew them later in the day.
The agency noted to reporters at an emergency news conference Monday morning that the area around Mindanao has been hit by frequent, large earthquakes. Last October, the region experienced a magnitude 7.4 quake, while a 7.6 earthquake struck off Mindanao on Dec. 2, 2023, prompting tsunami warnings along Japan’s Pacific coast from the Miyako and Yaeyama regions to Chiba Prefecture.
Tsunamis were observed in several areas following the 2023 quake, including a 40-centimeter wave at Yaene port on the island of Hachijojima in the Izu Islands.
Smaller tsunamis, ranging from a few centimeters to around 20 cm in height, were also recorded in Kagoshima, Kochi, Tokushima, Wakayama, Mie, Shizuoka, Aichi, Chiba, the Ogasawara Islands and Miyagi Prefecture, according to previous media reports.
That was the last time a tsunami advisory was issued for a distant overseas quake, the agency said.
In a statement released following the quake, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said that an information liaison office has been established at the crisis management center in the Prime Minister’s Office.
“I have also instructed officials to provide timely and accurate information to the public, take steps to prevent damage, including resident evacuations, and respond appropriately to the situation,” she added.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said that he had “directed all relevant government agencies to act immediately.”
Videos circulated on social media showed some buildings collapsing into rubble following the quake.
Reuters reported that Benjie Ancheta, police chief of the town of Alabel in Sarangani in the Philippines, said that cracks formed in the police building immediately after the quake.
“This is the strongest earthquake we’ve experienced,” Ancheta said.
