Residents of Japanese coastal areas were told to evacuate their homes Monday as the country braces for a tsunami after a 7.6 magnitude earthquake shook the country’s western coast.
More than a dozen earthquakes were reported in the Sea of Japan late Monday night local time, the largest of which collapsed buildings and started a fire in Wajima, the city closest to the earthquake’s epicenter, Japanese news outlet NHK reported. According to The Washington Post, at least six people were “buried alive” under rubble when buildings collapsed, citing Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi.
Immediately following the earthquakes, Japan issued a “major tsunami warning” — the highest-level warning. The Japan Meteorological Agency has now downgraded that alert to a “tsunami warning” as people in the affected areas are still being told to evacuate and seek higher…
