Japan, Taiwan, Philippines issue tsunami alerts after major earthquake

Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines have issued tsunami warnings after a major earthquake.

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said the 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck near Taiwan shortly before 9:00am Japanese local time (00:00 GMT).

The JMA said residents in areas around Okinawa Island, Miyakojima Island and Yaeyama Island should immediately evacuate, warning of waves of up to 3 metres (9.8 ft) high.

“Tsunami waves are approaching the coasts. Evacuate as quickly as possible. Waves can hit repeatedly. Continue to evacuate until all warnings are lifted,” the meteorological agency said.

In Taiwan, the quake was felt across the island, with video shared on social media showing some buildings shaken off their foundations and a landslide in the eastern part of the island.

In Taipei, vehicles pulled over on the side of the road, while bookshelves and furniture were knocked over with the force of the quake.  A series of aftershocks were felt in the capital around 15 minutes later and continued over the next hour.

Taiwanese authorities issued a tsunami alert for coastal areas, calling on residents to be “vigilant.”

The Philippines’ seismology agency said coastal areas were expected to experience “high tsunami waves”.

(Aljazeera)