22:05

Japan has downgraded tsunami warnings issued after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake hit off the country’s east coast, as the risk of major damage appeared to pass.

The quake, which struck east of Fukushima prefecture at about 6am on Tuesday, prompted urgent warnings for people to leave low-lying areas in Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures as a series of tsunami waves hit the shore.

The warnings allowed for the possibility of waves of up to 3m (10 feet) along the country’s north-east Pacific coast, but the highest recorded wave, of 1.4m (4.6 feet), was observed at Sendai port shortly after 8am.

The tsunami warnings in Fukushima and Miyagi were downgraded to the less severe status of advisories nearly four hours after the initial quake, although people were still urged to stay away from coastal areas. Similar tsunami advisories also remained in place in Iwate and Ibaraki prefectures.

There were no reports of severe injuries from the quake, which struck at a depth of 30km (18.6 miles), according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. The same region was hit by a series of weaker quakes in the following few hours.