Tsunami warning as quake hits

A TSUNAMI warning was issued yesterday for several small islands after a strong earthquake shook an area off Japan’s southern coast.

The Meteorological Agency said the earthquake hit at 3.10pm local time (6.10am GMT) and registered magnitude 6.6.

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

The Japanese agency said the tsunami was expected to be about 1.6 feet (50cm) high.

The warning was removed a hour later.

The quake hit 110 kilometres off the southern coast of Miyakojima island, in southern Japan, at a depth of 10 kilometres, it said.