Tsunami hits Japanese islands after 5.9-magnitude earthquake, residents on alert

A small tsunami hit Japan after an earthquake of magnitude 5.9 hit an unpopulated island in the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, a tsunami of 50 cm (1.6 feet) entered Hachijo island, one of the Izu islands, around 40 minutes after the earthquake. Smaller tsunamis have been detected on three other islands, Kozushima, Miyakejima and Izu Oshima as well, the weather body said.

No casualties have been reported due to the tsunami or the earthquake so far. The weather body has also issued a warning for a tsunami of around 1 m (3.3 feet) high for Izu and Ogasawara islands.

About 21,500 people live on the islands in the Izu group and about 2,500 on the Ogasawara Islands, news agency The Associated Press reported. Meanwhile, record rains hit central Japan’s Noto region on Saturday, killing at least one person and over seven people were reported missing.

Hourly rainfall hit record 121 mm (4.8 inches) on Saturday morning in Wajima, while neighbouring Suzu received 84.5 mm in an hour, also an all-time high. A massive 7.6 magnitude earthquake hit Suzu, Wajima and surrounding areas in Japan in January this year, killing more than 300 people.

Japan is situated on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a line of seismic faults in the Pacific Ocean, and is one of the world’s most earthquake and tsunami-prone countries.