Japan observes 60-cm tsunami after Chile quake

Tsunami waves hit wide areas on Japan''''s Pacific coast Thursday following a magnitude 8.2 quake off Chile, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. The waves of 60 cm were observed at a port in Kuji City in Iwate prefecture, about 550 km north of Tokyo, at 12:22 p.m. (0322 GMT), the agency said, adding that minor tsunamis also reached many coastal zones. There were no immediate reports of casualties and damage. Earlier in the day, the agency issued a tsunami advisory for the country''''s Pacific coast, saying tsunami waves of as high 1 meter may arrive. The agency urged citizens in areas covered by the advisory or working along the coast to stay away from the shore and river mouths. According to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency evacuation advisories were issued to 30,000 people living in three prefectures in northeastern Japan. Tsunami waves were spawned by the massive earthquake struck off the northern coast of Chile at 8:46 Tuesday local time. Meanwhile, a strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.3 on the Richter scale struck Iwate Prefecture at 8:22 a.m. (2322 Wednesday GMT), the weather agency said. But there were no immediate reports of casualties and damage. The quake measured 4 on the Japanese seismic scale of 7 in some areas in Iwate and neighboring Miyagi prefectures, according to the agency. It defines an intensity of 4 as capable of causing dishes and objects in shelves rattle. Iwate and Miyagi were severely damaged by the magnitude 9.0-quake and ensuing tsunami in March 2011 that left nearly 19,000 people dead or missing and damaged the Fukushima nuclear complex