Strong earthquake rocks southern Japan

A strong 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck southern Japan on Tuesday afternoon.

The earthquake occurred at 4:27 p.m. local time and was at a depth of 10 kilometres. It was centred 5.2 km east of Uto, Japan.

A tsunami advisory was issued for the Ariake Sea, and tsunami waves of approximately one meter were expected.

Assessments of casualties and property damage are still underway. There are also areas experiencing power outages and fires, as well as damage to roads and bridges and the collapse of buildings.