TOKYO (AP) – Japan issued a tsunami warning Wednesday after a strong earthquake struck off its coast, its first such warning since last month’s tsunami disaster in southern Asia. But officials were quick to reassure residents that the wave was small and would not cause damage.

Officials in Japan’s Izu island chain, the area closest to the 6.8-magnitude quake, told people to stay away from the water but took no further steps.

“We knew the waves weren’t big enough to warrant an evacuation order,” said Takeshi Iwata, a policeman on Oshima island, the largest in the chain.

The advisory by Japan’s higly advanced warning system proved largely accurate. The warning – issued by the Meteorological Agency moments after the afternoon quake – said the tsunami would reach a maximum of 20 inches. As it turned out, waves 4 to 12 inches high were recorded among the Izu islands, the agency said later.

Within about two hours after the quake, the agency lifted all warnings.

Officials at the Meteorological Agency say such advisories are standard practice and are not intended to alarm but rather prevent the spread of misinformation before panic sets in.


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