1m tsunami in Japan after 7.3 quake

A one-metre-high tsunami hit northeast Japan yesterday after a powerful undersea quake struck off the coast, sending thousands fleeing to safety in a region that was devastated in last year's quake-tsunami disaster.
Broadcasters urged residents along the shoreline to remember the 2011 catastrophe and move to higher ground when the initial tremors rocked the region.
Telephone systems jammed up with the sheer volume of calls, complicating officials' efforts to evacuate exposed areas until the tsunami warning was lifted two hours later.
Meteorologists said the wave swept ashore just after 6:00pm in Ishinomaki, a city badly hit by the 2011 quake-generated tsunami that wrecked a large swathe of coast, killing thousands.
The tsunami warning was lifted two hours later.
There were no immediate reports of any fatalities following the quake, which had a magnitude of 7.3, according to the United States Geological Survey.
Operator Tokyo Electric Power told AFP there were no reports of any problems at Fukushima power plant.
Broadcaster NHK reported 5,000 people had fled in Miyagi prefecture, a region devastated in last year's disaster.