MOSCOW, Jan 1 —Parts of Sakhalin island’s western coast and the mainland cities of Vladivostok and Nakhodka, which are situated close to Japan on Russia’s Pacific seaboard, are under threat of tsunami, state news agency TASS reported today, citing officials.

A massive earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6 struck central Japan today, triggering a tsunami warning and advisories for residents to evacuate.

TASS quoted Russia’s emergencies ministries as denying earlier reports that an evacuation of the population of at-risk areas on Sakhalin was underway. — Reuters