Japanese officials on Tuesday issued an advisory warning of a potential megathrust earthquake of magnitude 8.0 or higher off the northeast coast of the main island of Honshu following Monday’s 7.5 tremor that sent a 20-inch tsunami crashing into the shoreline, the Associated Press reports.
The Japanese Meteorological Agency – which despite its name, also has geological hazards in its remit – justified the warning by reminding locals that the March 11, 2011 magnitude 9.0 quake and tsunami that killed nearly 20,000 people had a 7.3 magnitude precursor just two days earlier.