20-Centimeter Tsunami Observed after Quake off Iwate Pref.

Tokyo, Nov. 10 (Jiji Press)–Tsunami waves up to 20 centimeters high reached the Pacific coast of Iwate Prefecture in northeastern Japan on Sunday afternoon following an earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 6.9. The earthquake occurred at a depth of 16 kilometers off the Iwate coast at around 5:03 p.m., prompting the Japan Meteorological Agency to issue a tsunami advisory at 5:12 p.m. Tsunamis of 20 centimeters were observed in the Iwate cities of Kuji and Ofunato. The agency lifted the advisory at 8:15 p.m. The quake registered up to 4, the sixth-highest level on the 10-notch Japanese seismic intensity scale. The maximum tremor was recorded in the Iwate capital of Morioka and the town of Yahaba, as well as the town of Wakuya in neighboring Miyagi Prefecture. According to East Japan Railway Co., or JR East, the quake caused a temporary power outage on its Tohoku Shinkansen bullet train line, with services suspended between Sendai Station in Miyagi and Shin-Aomori Station in Aomori Prefecture, north of Iwate. Also, there were delays on the Akita and Hokkaido Shinkansen lines. The temblor is believed to have occurred at the boundary of two tectonic plates, the agency said, noting that the ocean-side plate is sliding beneath the plate on the land side. The agency urged caution for possible further earthquakes of similar or higher magnitudes in the coming week. Many quakes of seismic intensity ranging from 1 to 3 occurred off the Iwate coast through Monday. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]