6.9-magnitude earthquake strikes off Japan (Source CNN)

A tsunami warning is in effect for Japan’s Fukushima and Miyagi Prefectures after a 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck off Honshu just before 6.00 a.m. Tuesday (4.00 p.m. Monday ET).

Japanese authorities urged residents in those northeast coastal areas to leave immediately for higher ground and not return until warnings had been lifted. The earthquake struck in the same area as the devastating 9.0-magnitude earthquake in 2011 — one of the worst ever to hit Japan — which killed more than 20,000 people and triggered a meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Tuesday’s quake struck 37 kilometers (23 miles) east-southeast of Namie at a depth of 11.4 kilometers (7 miles). Four aftershocks of at least magnitude 4.8 were recorded within one hour of the initial quake