Japan Meteorological Agency warnings apply to Ishikawa, Niigata and Toyama prefectures

• Japan quake: latest updates

A powerful earthquake has struck central Japan’s western coastline, prompting tsunami alerts and warnings for residents to evacuate.

The quake, which hit at 4.10pm local time and is estimated to have been magnitude 7.6, knocked out power to tens of thousands of homes and disrupted flights and rail services. In Wajima city on the Noto peninsula, close to the epicentre, at least six people are reported to have been inside houses that collapsed.