Massive 7.5-magnitude earthquake hits off Japanese coast, tsunami alert issued

A strong earthquake took place off the northern coast of Japan Monday afternoon, prompting the Japan Meteorological Agency to put out a tsunami alert in the area.

The quake, registering a preliminary magnitude of 7.5, occurred off the coast of Sanriku in northern Japan at around 4:53 p.m. local time, at a depth of about 6 miles below the sea surface, the agency said.

A tsunami of around 2.6 feet was identified at the Kuji port in the Iwate prefecture while a tsunami of 1.3 feet was found at a different port in the prefecture, the agency indicated.

A tsunami of as high as 10 feet could strike the region, the agency indicated.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated

The Associated Press contributed to this report