Japan issued tsunami warnings Monday after a powerful earthquake shook its western coast, trapping some beneath rubble and others scrambling for cover on higher ground.

More than a dozen quakes were reported off the coast of Ishikawa shortly after 4 p.m., the largest of which was measured at 7.5. magnitude, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency, which issued a major tsunami warning for Ishikawa and lower-level warnings or advisories for the rest of the western coast on the island of Honshu.

The tremors first caused four foot tall waves to strike coastal cities, where residents were urged to immediately get to high ground ahead of expected waves of up to 17 feet tall, according to the broadcaster NHK TV.

As a result, warnings were aired continuously nearly an hour after the initial alert.

But by Monday evening, most of the tsunami warnings had been canceled, but some tsunami remained in effect for waves up to three feet, CNN noted.

One tsunami wave that struck Suzu City “could have been a lot worse,” CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam said, referring to footage of the crest bearing down on the coastal city.

The aftershocks could continue for months, seismologist Susan Hough with the US Geological Survey warned CNN. 

“An earthquake this big is going to continue to have aftershocks. It could easily have aftershocks bigger than magnitude 6, so that is going to be a hazard in its own right,” Hough explained.

“You can see all the snow from the the electric wire goes down, and also (the snow) from the roof fell down and all the cars are shaking. And so everybody was panicked at that time,” Taiwanese tourist Johnny Wu told Reuters of the moment the quake hit Ishikawa.

“The whole room was shaking, the TV was shaking. I had to keep everything on the table. … I did feel safe in my room, though. But everything else was shaking,” Baldwin Chia, visiting from Shanghai, added.

On Monday afternoon, government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi urged people to head to higher ground “immediately.”

At least six homes were damaged by the quakes, trapping their occupants inside, Hayashi said.

A fire in Wajima city connected to the disaster had also left some 30,000 households in the dark, according to the spokesperson.

Several buildings were damaged and roads were cracked by the initial earthquake, and some of the country’s famous Shinkasen bullet trains were also suspended as residents fled to safety, CNN reported.

“In response to the M7 earthquake at Noto region in Ishikawa prefecture, we have immediately set up the Prime Minister’s Office of Response – Disaster Counter Measure HQ,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishid wrote on X.

“Putting human lives as priority, we are making every effort to assess damages — putting forth all efforts in disaster response. For those in affected areas, please pay close attention to the latest information and place personal safety as your priority.”

A tsunami threat has also been declared in the eastern Russian cities of Vladivostok, Nakhodka, and the island of Sakhalin, CNN reported, citing the Russian state media TASS.

Japan is an extremely earthquake-prone country. In March 2011, a major quake and subsequent tsunami killed nearly 20,000 people and caused meltdowns at a nearby nuclear power plant.

With Post wires