People are being told to stay away from the seashore and river banks.

The tremor took place at 4:42pm near the city of Miyazaki, and the Japan Meteorological Agency recorded the epicentre of the quake somewhere in the Hyuganada Sea at a depth of about 30km.

宮崎空港なう
けっこう揺れました。

みんな2階3階に避難してます#earthquake_jp #地震 pic.twitter.com/B4TsURsg6i

— テキトーオーカー (@crawler1990mc) August 8, 2024

People in the coastal areas of Miyazaki, Kochi, Oita, Kagoshima and Ehime prefectures shared footage of the earthquake's impact on buildings and amenities in their local area.

One person shared an image of food from a restaurant and goods from a clothing store strewn across the floor at a shopping centre, while others showed cars and traffic lights shaking in traffic.

🚨#UPDATE: Dashcam footage shows moments when shaking felt in southern Japan earthquake, tsunami alerts have been issued.

The footage is believed to be from Miyazaki.
pic.twitter.com/Trq4dWjLq8

— R A W S G L 🌎 B A L (@RawsGlobal) August 8, 2024

While there were no immediate signs of major damage, the earthquake issued a tsunami advisory with waves of up to 1 metre (3.3ft) predicted along the southern coast of Kyushu and the nearby island of Shikoku.

Operators of nuclear plants on Kyushu and Shikoku said they were checking to see if there was any damage to them, and Japan’s NHK public television reported that windows had been broken at the Miyazaki airport near the epicenter.

While there have been no reports of injuries at the airport, all flights in and out have been suspended.

Cities as much as 68 kilometres away from the epicentre, like Kirishima, and 72 kilometres, like Kanoya, also felt the effects of today's quake.

On New Years Day this year, at least 30 people were killed after a 7.6 magnitude earthquake hit Japan's western coast.

Tsunami warnings have now been downgraded to "advisories" as footage of damaged or destroyed communities begins to emerge from Japan.

Rescue efforts are being hampered by blocked roads and aftershocks following an earthquake on New Year's Day.https://t.co/mTDTv4988H pic.twitter.com/PvfyuLfOMU

— Sky News (@SkyNews) January 2, 2024

A 'major' tsunami warning was issued at the time, and this materialised in the form of 1.3–5.8-meter-high waves in the Ishikawa, Toyama, and Niigata prefectures.

Tsunamis over three meters high were concentrated primarily in Iida Bay, with the area surrounding Ukai Fishing Port being most widely flooded by the tidal waves.