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An 8.9-magnitude earthquake hit Japan early Friday, March 11, triggering tsunami warnings and sending people fleeing out of buildings in the capital.

Its epicenter was 373 kilometers (231 miles) from Tokyo, the United States Geological Survey said.

The quake rattled buildings and toppled cars off bridges and into waters underneath. In Tokyo, crowds gathered in the streets and tried to reach relatives via cell phone.

Scenes inside office buildings showed papers strewn all over the floor and people clinging onto seats and desks.

Such a large earthquake at such a shallow depth creates a lot of energy, said Shenza Chen of the U.S. Geological Survey.

A tsunami in the Pacific was moving closer to other shorelines in other countries, according to CNN metereologist Ivan Cabrera.

It triggered tsunami warnings for various countries, including Japan and Russia, the National Weather Service said.

"Earthquakes of this size are known to generate tsunamis potentially dangerous to coasts outside the source region," it said.

"Based on all available data a tsunami may have been generated by this earthquake that could be destructive on coastal areas even far from the epicenter."

The quake was the latest in a series in the region this week.

Early Thursday, an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.3 struck off the coast of Honshu.

A day earlier, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck off of Honshu, the country's meteorological agency said.

The Wednesday quake lasted as long as three minutes, but did not cause significant damage. It could be felt in Tokyo, 267 miles (429 kilometers) southwest of its epicenter.- Tokyo (CNN)

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology raised tsunami alert level 1 after a magnitude 8.9 earthquake struck the east coast of Japan Friday afternoon.

Phivolcs said no evacuation order is in effect but communities along the east coast of the country are advised to wait for further information and prepare for possible evacuation.

Coastal areas fronting the Pacific Ocean of the following provinces should keep watch:

Batanes Group of Islands

Cagayan

Ilocos Norte

Isabela

Quezon

Aurora

Camarines Norte

Camarines Sur

Albay

Catanduanes

Sorsogon

Northern Samar

Eastern Samar

Leyte

Southern Leyte

Surigao del Norte

Surigao del Sur

Davao Oriental

Davao del Sur

Executive Director Benito Ramos of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said he has alerted all provincial and regional disaster coordinating councils to stay on alert in case the Japan quake affects the Philippines.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police were also placed on standby in case of evacuation of residents living in the eastern coast of the country.

The United States Geological Survey said the magnitude 8.8 quake struck 81 miles east of Sendai, Honshu.

The quake shook buildings in the capital Tokyo, causing "many injuries," at least one fire and triggering a 10-meter (30-foot) tsunami warning, NHK television and witnesses reported.

The public broadcaster showed black smoke billowing from a building in Odaiba, a Tokyo suburb, and bullet trains to the north of the country were halted.

Television showed cars bobbing in water along side fishing boats. A 50 cm tsunami hit Japan's northern coast.

"The building shook for what seemed a long time and many people in the newsroom grabbed their helmets and some got under their desks," Reuters correspondent Linda Sieg said.

"It was probably the worst I have felt since I came to Japan more than 20 years ago."

Japan's northeast Pacific coast, called Sanriku, has suffered from quakes and tsunamis in the past and a 7.2 quake struck on Wednesday. In 1933, a magnitude 8.1 quake in the area killed more than 3,000 people. Last year fishing facilities were damaged after by a tsunami caused by a strong tremor in Chile.

Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas. The country accounts for about 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater. - ABS-CBN

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