Powerful earthquake strikes Japan, tsunami warnings issued

A powerful 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck the western coast of Japan Monday at 4:10PM Japan Standard Time (JST).

Immediately, the Japan Meteorological Agency issued a Major Tsunami Warning, prompting residents to quickly evacuate as soon as possible. 

A Major Tsunami Warning is issued when the wave height of the Tsunami is expected to be greater than 3 meters or roughly 9.8 feet. The epicenter of this major earthquake was pinpointed roughly 42 km (26 miles) northeast of Anamizu, Japan, registering a depth of 10 km (6 miles) according to the U.S.G.S. 

Earthquakes as powerful as this occur about 18 times per year and are equivalent to 1 billion pounds of explosives. If you recall, Japan has quite the recent history with major earthquakes. 

If you recall, Japan was struck by a catastrophic 9.1 earthquake back on March 11th, 2011, generating a Tsunami with a 24 ft wave height.