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
It is difficult to give accurate tolls of the dead and missing, you can see why when you sigh the extent of the damage and what the rescue teams have to break through to find out what is underneath. it is not just the pictures truly capturing the devastation but heartbreaking stories. my son might have been engulfed by the suetsunami. i m struggling to locate him. my husband hasn t come here yet. he left home a little later than me. our house was swept away. i m looking for my son s wife. i have no idea which shelter she is in. well, things aren t settled. there are threats, people