The first tsunami reached South Korea’s east coast at 09:21 GMT at a height of 45 cm (1.5 ft) in the wake of a massive earthquake that hit Japan on Monday, South Korea’s meteorological agency said.

The tsunami can grow after the initial waves and may continue for more than 24 hours, the agency said in an advisory.

South Korea’s Gangwon province warned residents to take precautions and evacuate to higher ground, according to the Ministry of Interior and Safety.

South Korea’s meteorological agency earlier said sea levels in some parts of the Gangwon province on the east coast may rise after an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6 hit north-central Japan, and it issued an advisory for caution.

It said tsunami waves of up to 0.3 meters could reach South Korea’s eastern shore between 09:29 GMT and 1017 GMT.

Gangwon province told residents in emergency text messages to stay away from the coast and evacuate to higher ground. The city of Samcheok advised residents to move to areas higher than a three-story building, the Ministry of Interior and Safety said.

Russia also issued tsunami warnings

Parts of Sakhalin island’s western coast and the mainland Primorsk and Khabarovsk regions, which are situated close to Japan on Russia’s Pacific seaboard, are under threat of tsunami, state news agency TASS reported on Monday, citing officials.

A massive earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6 struck central Japan on Monday, triggering a tsunami warning and advisories for residents to evacuate.

Russian media cited authorities in the Primorsk region port city of Vladivostok as saying that anyone sailing in local waters should “urgently return to the shore.”

TASS cited authorities in Sakhalin and Khabarovsk regions as saying that the wave would not be life-threatening.

Source: Reuters

--Agencies