Massive earthquake strikes near Fukushima, Japan, triggering tsunami warning

The earthquake measured 7.3 in magnitude 

A massive earthquake measuring 7.3 in magnitude has struck off the coast of Japan triggering a tsunami warning.

The earthquake measured 25km in depth, according to the US Geological Survey, and occurred near Fukushima.

A traffic jam is seen as people evacuate after tsunami advisories were issued following an earthquake, in Iwaki, Fukushima prefecture, Japan, in this photo taken 

A traffic jam is seen as people evacuate after tsunami advisories were issued following an earthquake 

It comes five years after Japan’s coast was struck by a 9.1 magnitude earthquake; leading to a tsunami which caused devastation along its coastline.

The disaster caused one of the nearby Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant’s reactors to overheat and led to three nuclear meltdowns.

Officials said today’s earthquake had caused the plant’s cooling systems to fail, however, they would be restarted within a few hours.

A tsunami warning has urged people to evacuate their properties immediately and estimates its height to be three metres, NHK World reported.