A powerful 7.6-magnitude earthquake has shaken northeastern Japan late, prompting orders for about 90,000 residents to evacuate and tsunami warnings that hours later were downgraded to advisories.

The Japan Meteorological Agency initially said a tsunami as high as 3 metres (10 feet) could hit Japan’s northeastern coast after the earthquake struck off the coast at 11:15 pm (14:15 GMT) on Monday.

Tsunami warnings were issued for the prefectures of Hokkaido, Aomori and Iwate, and tsunamis from 20 to 70 cm (7 to 27 inches) high were observed at several ports, JMA said.

The epicentre of the quake was 80km (50 miles) off the coast of Aomori prefecture, at a depth of 50km (30 miles), according to the JMA.

In the early hours of Tuesday the JMA downgraded the warnings to advisories, meaning it now sees lower estimated wave heights and less risk of inundation.

Several injuries were reported following the quake. Public broadcaster NHK said multiple people were hurt at a hotel in Hachinohe, Aomori, while a man in the town of Tohoku was injured when his car fell into a hole caused by the shaking.

Fires were also reported in Aomori, and authorities advised about 90,000 residents to move to evacuation shelters, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said, “hazardous tsunami waves from Hokkaido earthquake are possible within 1,000km (620 miles) of the epicentre along the coasts of Japan and Russia”.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi had urged residents in affected areas to act quickly.

“Where a tsunami warning has been issued, please evacuate immediately to safe locations such as high ground or evacuation buildings,” she said in a post on social media.

East Japan Railway said it had suspended some train services in the region. Public broadcaster NHK reported that nuclear power plants in the affected areas were carrying out safety checks, with no immediate signs of problems.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it had observed no abnormalities at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Japan is one of the world’s most earthquake-prone countries, located in the seismically active “Ring of Fire”.

It accounts for about 20 percent of the world’s earthquakes of magnitude 6.0 or greater and was hit by a devastating 9.0-magnitude quake and tsunami in March 2011.