A strong magnitude 7.5 earthquake has struck off northern Japan, prompting authorities to issue a tsunami warning for waves of up to 3 metres (10 feet).
The quake hit on Monday at 4:53pm local time (07:53 GMT) in waters off Iwate prefecture on Japan’s Pacific coast, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). It was felt across a wide area, shaking buildings in Tokyo, hundreds of kilometres (miles) to the south.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said blocked roads were making it difficult to access the northern part of Noto where the earthquake caused the most damage.
"An inspection from above via helicopter has shown widespread damage including roads cut off, landslides and fires," Kishida said, adding that it was difficult to assess the full extent of damage due to the blocked roads.
"We have information that 1,000 Self Defence Force (SDF) personnel have arrived in the region," Kishida said. "Excluding the area's own police, fire service, SDF and Coast Guard units, we have received reports from other regional police forces that 634 disaster relief personnel and 2,039 fire service personnel have arrived in the area."
The earthquake could be felt in Tokyo, where it sent power lines and light fixtures swaying.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said it had recorded within 90 minutes about 19 additional earthquakes above a magnitude of 1, including the largest one. The largest quake was "very shallow," the agency said.
Video broadcast on local TV showed collapsed concrete statues and damage to buildings. Many homes have been damaged or collapses, according to NHK.
In Ishikawa Prefecture, on the Japanese island of Honshu, as many as 40,000 are without electricity. Additionally, hundreds if not thousands of people, will be spending the night outdoors Monday night, where temperatures will be below freezing.
Officials in Ishikawa's Wajima City, a city near the epicenter, say a fire broke out in the center of the city damaging more than 50 stores and houses on a street that hosts a morning market, the country's Fire Disaster Management Agency said. Additional fires in Kanazawa and Joetsu, cities on the mainland near the Noto Peninsula, were extinguished, the agency said.