Japan assesses damage following massive quake and tsunami warning

Authorities in Japan on Tuesday were rushing to assess the damage the day after a powerful earthquake left at least six dead, led to the collapse of multiple buildings, sparked a large-scale fire in a popular tourist area and triggered a tsunami warning for the length of the nation’s west coast.

The 7.6 magnitude earthquake, which at its center was rated the highest-level 7 on Japan’s shindo intensity scale, struck Ishikawa Prefecture’s Noto Peninsula on Monday afternoon, as the nation was marking New Year’s Day.

The quake triggered a rare major tsunami warning and forecasts that waves of up to 5 meters could strike, but by Tuesday morning, the warnings had been reduced to advisories and the highest tsunami recorded was said to be over 1.2 meters at Wajima Port in Ishikawa.