TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo and the Indonesian Consulate General in Osaka have urged Indonesians residing in regions affected by an earthquake of preliminary magnitude 7.6 that struck central Japan on Monday to stay alert.

Residents must remain cautious because the Japanese authorities have yet to withdraw the aftershock and tsunami warnings following the powerful quake, which hit Japan around 2:10 p.m. local time, according to the embassy.

Based on the embassy's self-report system for Indonesian citizens, at least 3,791 Indonesians currently reside in the prefectures of Ishikawa, Toyama, and Niigata, which have been affected by the earthquake.

For safety reasons, Indonesians residing in the affected prefectures have been advised to keep monitoring information and directives from local authorities, the embassy said in its written statement.

The tremors from the quake on Monday could be felt as far as Fukui, Nagano, Gifu, Tokyo, Yamagata, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Saitama, Shizuoka, Aichi, Mie, Shiga, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Nara, Tottori, Iwate, Miyagi, and Akita prefectures.

The Japan Meteorological Agency has issued tsunami warnings for several regions, the embassy said, adding that officers at the embassy and consulate general are coordinating with the Japanese authorities.

They have also contacted Indonesian community members in the affected prefectures, urged them to move to safer places, and launched hotlines +818035068612 (Indonesian embassy) and +818031131003 (Indonesian Consulate General in Osaka) to help those in need.

Meanwhile, an ANTARA journalist in Tokyo, Juwita Trisna Rahayu, reported that several Indonesian citizens have taken refuge at Kanazawa Mosque in Ishikawa Prefecture.

The powerful earthquake on Monday also damaged roads in Ishikawa, and caused a power outage that affected around 35 thousand households in the three-affected prefectures, she said.

According to Japanese public broadcaster NHK, tsunami waves of more than 1.2 meters were observed at 4:21 p.m. local time in Wajima city, Ishikawa Prefecture.

Japan's public media further reported that tsunami waves measuring 50 centimeters had also been sighted in Toyama city, Toyama Prefecture.

Therefore, residents in affected areas were advised to move to higher ground and stay away from coastal areas, the NHK reported.

ANTARA

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