7.1 magnitude earthquake strikes coast of Japan, tsunami advisories triggered
LONDON -- A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.1 has rocked the coast of southern Japan as tsunami advisories have been triggered in the region, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The epicenter of the earthquake is just a dozen miles off the coast of the city of Miyazaki on the island of Kyushu in Japan.
Miyazaki, with a population of approximately 400,000 people, is now on alert for potential tsunamis in the aftermath of the quake.
The epicenter was located in the Hyuganada Sea, just off the eastern coast of Japan's southern main island of Kyushu, and was measured at a depth of about 30 kilometers (18.6 miles). The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami advisory, predicting waves of up to 1 meter (3.3 feet) along the southern coast of Kyushu and nearby island of Shikoku.
People have been urged to stay away from the coast or river and have been warned that other quakes -- even on the same magnitude --may occur.
Video filmed by Ryosuke Take, an employee at a local radio station in Kirishima on Japan's island of Kyushu, shows objects in the office vigorously shaking.
"The shaking was very strong," Ryosuke told ABC News. Listeners also reported that "in private homes, dishes fell from kitchens, and nearby hotels have reported that their elevators and kitchens are unusable."
One area in Kochi prefecture is ordering residents to evacuate but drastic sea level changes have not been reported.
The quake registered a lower 6 in the hardest-hit areas -- very high on the Japanese shake scale, which goes from 0 to 7. It would've been strong enough to knock over furniture, damage some concrete buildings and even topple some wooden ones.
However, there are currently no reports of any major damage and shaking was not felt in the capital city of Tokyo. Additionally, there have been no change or irregularities reported with regional nuclear plants so far.
ABC News' Anthony Trotter and Morgan Winsor contributed to this report.
