Japan earthquake: Residents flee some coastal areas as more tsunamis predicted

An aerial view shows fire site after an earthquake at a residential area in Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan Jan 1 in this photo released by Kyodo. - Reuters

TOKYO: A powerful earthquake struck central Japan on Monday (Jan 1), triggering warnings for residents to evacuate some areas on its west coast, knocking out power to thousands of homes and disrupting flights and rail services to the affected region.

The quake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6 triggered waves of around 1m along parts of the Sea of Japan coast with a larger wave expected, public broadcaster NHK reported.