Japan issued tsunami alerts Monday after a series of strong quakes shook western areas.

The Japan Meterological Agency reported a quake hitting Ishikawa and nearby prefectures, one of them measuring a preliminary magnitude of 7.6.

It issued a major tsunami warning for Ishikawa and lower-level tsunami warnings or advisories for the rest of the northwestern coast of the island of Honshu.

Read: 7.6 magnitude earthquake strikes off the southern Philippines, briefly prompting a tsunami warning

Japanese public broadcaster NHK TV warned torrents of water could reach as high as 5 meters (16.5 feet) and urged people to flee to high land or a top of a nearby building as quickly as possible.

Reports of damage were not immediately available.

Aso read: Strong earthquake shakes eastern Japan; no tsunami warning