Japan rocked by powerful 7.5 earthquake and tsunami as dozens injured and thousands evacuated
Officials said 33 people were injured, including one seriously, with most hurt by falling objects
Japan has been struck by a powerful earthquake and tsunami, injuring at least 33 people.
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The 7.5-magnitude quake was recorded around 80km off the coast of Aomori in northern Japan at around 11.15pm local time.
Officials said 33 people were injured, including one seriously, with most hurt by falling objects.
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The heavy tremor also unleashed a 70cm-high tsunami just south of Aomori, in Kuji port, while waves as high as 50cm were recorded elsewhere.
"I've never experienced such a big shaking," said Nobuo Yamada, who owns a convenience store in Hachinohe, Aomori, in an interview with public broadcaster NHK.
Earlier in the day, 90,000 residents were ordered to evacuate after the meteorological agency issued an alert for potential tsunami surges.
Locals in the affected areas were told to go to higher ground or seek shelter until advisories were lifted.
Chief cabinet secretary Minoru Kihara said about 800 homes were without electricity, and that the Shinkansen bullet trains and some local lines were suspended in parts of the region.
Hachinohe Air Base was used to house some 480 residents, with 18 defence helicopters mobilised for damage assessments, Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said.
Japan has a long history of major earthquakes causing devastation. In 2011, one triggered a tsunami that killed some 20,000 people and a nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
Following today's quake, about 450 litres of water spilled from a spent fuel cooling area at the Rokkasho fuel reprocessing plant in Aomori, the Nuclear Regulation Authority said. However, it added that there was no safety concern.
All remaining tsunami advisories have now been lifted by the Japanese government, but the authorities warned people to remain alert in case of aftershocks.
Satoshi Harada, from the meteorological agency's earthquake and volcano division, cautioned that the 2011 quake could repeat itself.
"You need to prepare, assuming that a disaster like that could happen again," he said.