Waves hit Japan in wake of tsunami fears

Japan's Meteorological Agency has cancelled tsunami warnings that were issued after a powerful undersea earthquake struck last Wednesday.

The threat appeared to pass after a series of small waves hit the northern Japanese coast, none larger than 40 centimetres. The agency initially warned residents to flee to higher ground amid predictions that up to 2 metre-high tsunami waves could hit the northern coast of Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost island.

However, the first wave of the tsunami, which struck at about 8 a.m. ET, turned out to be just 40 centimetres high, according to Japan's Meteorological Agency.

The agency warned that larger waves could follow, but a second wave that later struck was estimated at just 20 centimetres.

The earthquake struck about 1,700 kilometres northeast of Japan at 6:15 a.m. ET, the agency reported.

Japan's Meteorological Agency withdrew its tsunami warning after about three hours, although it urged continued caution. A tsunami warning that was issued for coastal areas of Alaska was later withdrawn, along with alerts for parts of British Columbia and advisories for the states of Washington, Oregon and California.

A watch is still in effect for Hawaii. In Russia the RIA-Novosti news agency reported that a tsunami warning was issued for the Kuril islands near where the quake struck and Sakhalin, a large island that lies between the Kuril chain and Russia's eastern coast.

Residents of the southern Kurils were being evacuated from shoreline areas because of the threat of a tsunami, the news agency reported.

Interfax reported that residents along the entire Kuril chain, which includes 12 islands, were being evacuated.

In Shibetsu on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido, 4,000 of the town's 6,100 residents lived along the coast and had been told to flee to higher ground. Takimoto said he did not notice the quake.

The Kuril islands in Japan are also known as the Chishima islands. The Southern Kurils, known in Japan as the Northern Territories, are the subject of a territorial dispute between Japan and Russia.

AP