Japan issues Tsunami alert following two quakes; lifts it later

Tokyo: The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) early on Monday issued tsunami advisories for multiple locations after two earthquakes jolted the Izu Islands and Wakayama prefecture.

However, later the warning was lifted. No significant damage has been reported, according to media reports.

A Reuters report citing Japan's national broadcaster NHK said that the tsunami had already arrived in some island areas, where waves as high as 60 centimetres (24 inches) were reported.

According to the JMA, the tsunami could reach one meter in height in Izu Islands, Ogasawara Islands, and the Kochi, Chiba, Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures, Xinhua news agency reported.

During a press conference, JMA official Toshihiro Shimoyama warned that "it is dangerous in the sea and near the coast".

The advisories, the lowest level in the country's three-tier tsunami warning system, advised people to stay away from the coast and rivers while staying alert for possible flooding.

At 5.25 a.m., on Monday morning, an earthquake struck near Izu Islands at a very shallow depth, the JMA said without specifying the temblor's magnitude.

About two hours later, a 3.5-magnitude earthquake hit the country's northern Wakayama prefecture.

According to the JMA, the temblor occurred at 8.18 a.m. at a depth of 70 km at a latitude of 34.1 degrees north and a longitude of 135.5 degrees east, measuring 2 on Japan's seismic intensity scale, which peaks at 7.

With inputs from agencies

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