issued. it struck at about 4:00 p.m. local time. a series of strong aftershocks have already been recorded. and tsunami waves of 1.2 meters have hit a number of areas along the western coast. japan s prime minister is urging residents in tsunami areas to evacuate as soon as possible. the u.s. geological survey and japan meteorological office as well have been making similar warnings. hanako montgomery is joining us live from tokyo. tell us what information you ve got right now, that knyou have w hanako. reporter: this was a large and powerful, 7.5 magnitude earthquake that hit around 4:10 p.m. local time, a time when many people are celebrating new year s day with their familiesnd loved ones. and it was a shallow earthquake with depths of around 10 kilometers or about 6 miles. this is significant to note because with shallow earthquakes, we know that they could potentially be more powerful and more destructive and essentially trigger tsunamis that could really devastate cer
year s day. a powerful earthquake triggering tsunami warnings and evacuations. this is video of the moment the quake struck. we re not getting much video because coms are down and they have closed all the power stations to protect them. but this is one neighborhood on one part of that long western coast of japan. this was the strike ahead of the tsunami which i ll talk about in a moment. but you can imagine what people are going through late afternoon in japan that time. and as soon as the quake struck, everyone was told by the government in emergency announcements that see that explosion there on the left has the house appears to collapse. everyone was told to go to higher ground because we had a series then of warnings from japanese officials about tsunamis. some are still standing. warning 16-foot high tsunamis possibly coming in. so far they have been hitting just about over a meter. the weather agency says there could be more aftershocks as well from the earthquake the
welcome to our viewers around the world. i m max foster. a powerful 7.5 magnitude earthquake hitting western japan and tsunami warning being issued, it struck around 4:00 p.m. local time, a series of strong after shocks have already been recorded as well. so not just one tremor. japan s prime minister urging residents in stsunami areas to evacuate and get to higher ground. the u.s. geological survey and japan meteorological agency say the original quake had a depth of 10 kilometers, or 6 miles, which has a huge impact on how powerful the aftershocks are. hanako montgomery is joining us there tokyo. first of all i want to ask you about the tsunamis. we re getting reports that they have actually hit the coastline. reporter: yeah, max, that s correct. we re seeing some tsunamis that measure 1.2 meters in height or nearly 4 feet. but a major tsunami warning has been issued. and we could potentially see tsunamis measuring up to 5 meters in ishikawa prefecture. we know the entire
you ve been watching fireworks in athens and romania, incredible displays as those countries ring in the new year. i want to go now to cnn s brynn be gin grass. you are live in the middle of all the action in times square tonight. it looks a little chilly but it also seems like folks are ready to party. reporter: there s so many billboards of lights, it feels likes you re in a tanning bed. we are hours away from the celebrations you just showed all the viewers, but people are still pretty excited, right, to ring in the new year here in times square. betlet me talk with a few of those people, what is your name and where are you from? jenna demers, i m from maine. is this your first time in times square for new year s eve. yes, we came to stay at the rockefeller center for christmas and we were already here so we just decided to stay. reporter: you re doing all of it. what are you most excited to see, witness, feel when the clock strikes 12:00. watching th
this is just incredible to see. such an elab rit display and celebration there in dubai. that is wow, just impressive to watch that, as they ring in the new year, 2024, in the uae. this is dubai, just i m speechless. so cool. all right, and we re going to stick with the celebrations around the world. let s go to scott mclean in georgia, where just moments ago, you all rang in the new year as w well. what s with your glasses? is that santa on your head? a lot of explaining to do here. but basically, let me set the scene and then i ll explain the glasses. we re watching some georgian performances happening here on the stage. this is first republic square, the times square of tubleesy. you can see the crowd has been lined up here for hours and in the sky, there s a fireworks display still going on. to be honest with you, i have no idea whether this is the official fireworks display or whether this is just very excited fesitive georgians lighting off their own firework