Strong quakes jolt central Japan, major tsunami warning issued

A series of strong earthquakes with major ones measured at up to 7.6 magnitude has struck the central Japanese prefecture of Ishikawa on Monday, with tsunami warnings issued, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).

The major quake hitting Ishikawa, a coastal prefecture on the Island of Honshu, registered an intensity of 7 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale which peaks at 7, with temblors felt in multiple regions of the Asian country, according to the weather agency.

The weather agency said the latest major temblor occurred at 4:10pm local time (7:10am GMT) at a shallow depth.

The temblor's epicenter was located in Ishikawa's Noto region, at Wajima east-northeast 30 km at 37.5 degrees north latitude and 137.2 degrees east longitude.

A major tsunami warning has been issued by the JMA for Noto region, urging people to evacuate immediately, following tsunami warnings for Niigata, Toyama, Ishikawa prefectures of the Japan Sea side of the country.

Japanese public broadcaster NHK has warned of torrents of water of up to 5 meters.