A magnitude 7.6 earthquake shook Japan’s northeast region late on Monday, prompting tsunami warnings and orders for residents to evacuate.

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said a tsunami as high as three metres (10 feet) could hit Japan’s northeastern coast after the earthquake struck at 11.15pm local time.

Tsunami warnings were issued for the prefectures of Hokkaido, Aomori and Iwate, and tsunamis from 20 to 50cm (7 to 18 inches) high were observed at several ports, JMA said.

The epicentre of the quake was 80km (50 miles) off the coast of Aomori prefecture, at a depth of 50km (30 miles), the agency added.

On Japan’s 1-7 scale of seismic intensity, the tremor registered as an “upper 6” in Aomori prefecture – a quake strong enough to make it impossible to keep standing or move without crawling. In such tremors, most heavy furniture can collapse and wall tiles and windowpanes are damaged in many buildings.