Japan hit by powerful earthquake, nearly 100K ordered to evacuate

TOKYO — A powerful earthquake struck central Japan on Monday, killing at least one person, destroying buildings, knocking out power to tens of thousands of homes and prompting residents in some coastal areas to flee to higher ground. The quake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6 triggered waves of about 1 metre along Japan’s west coast and neighbouring South Korea. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) initially issued a major tsunami warning – its first since the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that struck northeast Japan killing nearly 20,000 people – for Ishikawa prefecture. It later downgraded that and eventually cut it to an advisory. READ: Massive earthquake rocks Japan on New Year, triggers tsunami warnings It was the strongest quake…