EBN- A powerful magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck central Japan’s western coastline, prompting tsunami alerts and warnings for residents to evacuate.
At least six people were said to be trapped in collapsed buildings in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture.
A large-scale fire also broke out in the city following the quake, while several other municipalities reported collapsed houses.
Images broadcast on Japanese television show a major fire blazing in Wajima city that engulfed a row of houses.
“There is a large fire. We cannot immediately tell how many houses are affected by it,” an unnamed firefighter with the Wajima Fire Department told AFP news agency.
Four fire engines are on the scene but other heavy equipment struggled to reach the blaze because of damaged roads and fallen debris, he said.
The Japan Meteorological Agency has asked people in the affected areas to evacuate immediately to higher ground and get as far away as possible from the coast.
A total of more than 51,000 people in five prefectures left their homes, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
There are reports of collapsed buildings, road damages, power cuts and injured people arriving in hospitals in Japan.
Tsunami waves already hit parts of the Japanese coast. Further tsunami warnings are still in effect for a number of Japanese prefectures.
There are also tsunami alerts in South Korea, North Korea, and parts of Russia’s far east.
There is a risk of further quakes over the coming days.
