A powerful 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck late Monday off northern Japan, triggering a tsunami of up to 70 centimeters (27 inches) in Pacific coast communities and warnings of potentially higher surges,

A powerful 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck late Monday off northern Japan, according to officials. Several people have been reportedly injured.

An earthquake with a high likelihood of striking beneath Tokyo and nearby areas in the coming decades could kill 18,000 people and cause 83 trillion yen ($535 billion) in economic damage in the worst-case scenario, according to a Japanese draft government estimate.