Japan Lowers Tsunami Alerts Following Powerful Offshore Earthquake
A powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake shook northeastern Japan late Monday, prompting evacuation orders for about 90,000 residents and tsunami warnings that were later downgraded to advisories, officials said. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) initially warned that waves as high as 3 meters could strike parts of the northeastern coast after the quake hit at 11:15 p.m. local time (2:15 p.m. Irish time). Observed tsunami between 20 and 70 centimeters reached several ports, including along stretches of Hokkaido, Aomori and…