7.3 magnitude quake shakes Japan

So far, there were no reports of injuries in quake-hit areas, the National Police Agency said.

However, public television broadcaster NHK reported that a 75-year-old woman fell and was injured while evacuating to flee from the tsunami and added that a child was also injured in a Sendai city.

The quake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.3 and struck in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Miyagi prefecture at 5:18 pm (1348 IST), the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

Its epicentre was 240 km off the Pacific coast of Miyagi at a depth of 10 kilometres.

The quake was felt in Iwate, Miyagi, Aomori, Ibaraki and Tochigi prefectures.

The one-metre high tsunami reached Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture at 6:02 pm local time after the Japan Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami warning for wide areas along the Pacific coast, Kyodo news agency reported.

Local authorities in cities of Sendai, Iwanuma and Ishinomaki in Miyagi and Rikuzentakata in Iwate Prefecture among others urged residents in coastal areas to evacuate. (More)