Tokyo, Jan 13: A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.9 has hit southwestern Japan, the country's Meteorological Agency said Monday, while warning the public to stay away from coastal areas because of a tsunami threat.

Tsunami advisories were issued for Miyazaki Prefecture, where the quake was centred, in the southwestern island of Kyushu, as well as nearby Kochi Prefecture, shortly after the quake struck at 9:19 pm local time, according to the agency.

There were no immediate reports of damage. Residents in the coastal city in Kochi were told to evacuate as a precautionary measure.

Public broadcaster NHK TV said a tsunami, estimated to be as high as 1 metre high, reached land within 30 minutes of the quake. The waters detected at Miyazaki Port measured 20 cm (0.7 feet) high, the reports said.

The quake, centred at a depth of 30 km, shook a wide area in Kyushu, the southwestern main island, Japan's Meteorological Agency said.

Japan is frequently hit by earthquakes because of its location along the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.

NHK TV footage showed moving traffic and well-lit streets, meaning that electric power was still working. No problems were detected at the various monitoring posts for nuclear plants in the area.

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Guwahati (PTI): Blistering fifties by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Dhruv Jurel powered Rajasthan Royals to a six-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their IPL match here on Friday.

Sent in to bat, RCB rode on a fighting half-century by skipper Rajat Patidar (63) to post 201 for 8.

Virat Kohli (32), Romario Shepherd (22) and Venkatesh Iyer (29) also chipped in with useful contributions.

In reply, Sooryavanshi (78 off 26 balls) and Dhruv Jurel (81 not out off 43 balls) shared a 37-ball 108-run partnership for the second wicket to set the platform. Krunal Pandya (2/30) tried to bring them back with back-to-back wickets.

But Jurel, in the company of Ravindra Jadeja (24), completed the task with another 68-run stand, with two overs to spare.

For RR, Jofra Archer (2/33), Ravi Bishnoi (2/32) and Brijesh Sharma (2/37) took two wickets.

Brief scores:

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 201 for 8 in 20 overs (Rajat Patidar 63; Jofra Archer 2/33, Ravi Bishnoi 2/32, Brijesh Sharma 2/37).

Rajasthan Royals: 202 for 4 in 18 overs (Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 78, Dhruv Jurel 80 not out; Krunal Pandya 2/30, Josh Hazlewood 2/44).