7.5 Magnitude Earthquake Rattles Western Japan Monday Afternoon

Several tsunami alerts were put into place on Monday after a 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit western Japan, killing at least four people. The tsunami alerts stretched as far as Russia, putting millions of people in this part of the world on edge. Here is the latest on this developing situation.

Fatalities Reported in Japanese Earthquake

At least four people had been confirmed dead by late Monday as rescue crews sifted through the rubble to look for survivors. The earthquake hit at 4:10 pm local time, reaching a depth of about 6 miles. According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake rattled an area about 26 miles to the northeast of Anamizu in Ishikawa prefecture.

The relatively shallow depth of the earthquake created more intense shaking for those near the epicenter. Additionally, the location of the fault is near a populated area of the prefecture.

A tsunami warning was immediately put in place for the coastal areas of western Japan by the Japan Meteorological Agency. While this warning has since expired, some advisories remained in place heading into early Tuesday. It only took about 10 minutes from the time of the earthquake for the first big waves to come up on shore.