Tsunami waves have struck Japan after a rare “major tsunami warning” was issued on New Year’s Day in the wake of a powerful earthquake. The warning coming from the Japan Meteorological Agency urged people to quickly leave the Ishikawa prefecture on the Asian country’s western coast.

The warning read: “Very high waves are approaching the coasts. Evacuate immediately. Waves can hit repeatedly. Continue to evacuate until all warnings are lifted.” Other areas, including Niigata, Toyama and Yamagata, were struck by a less severe but still concerning tsunami warning, which also meant the precautionary evacuation of residents.

The agency urged to “continue to evacuate until all warnings are lifted”. In the wake of the massive earthquake, tsunami warnings were issued also in North Korea, South Korea and Russia – which evacuated some of its areas in the Far East.

The earthquake hit at approximately 4.10pm local time (7.10am GMT) on New Year’s Day and was felt in Tokyo and across the Kanto area. The Japan Meteorological Agency said the tremor struck with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6 on the Japanese scale, at a very shallow depth.