Locals shelter from the earthquake inside a gym in central Japan's Niigata Prefecture (Getty Images)

The Japanese government on Monday ordered the evacuation of more than 90,9 people from nine prefectures as a result of a series of earthquakes that hit the country, the most severe of which was 7.6 on the Richter scale.

The Japan Meteorological Agency recorded 21 earthquakes with a minimum magnitude of 4 on the Noto Peninsula in just over an hour and a half, the most intense of which was 7.6 and hit the northern tip of the peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture at 16:10 p.m. local time (07:10 GMT).

The quake initially recorded a magnitude of 7.4, adjusted by the U.S. Geological Survey to 7.5 and the Japan Meteorological Agency to 7.6.

The Japan Meteorological Agency reported that the quake triggered a 1.2-meter-high tsunami that hit the port of Wajima in Ishikawa Prefecture at 16:21, prompting authorities to ask residents to leave the areas concerned and take refuge in the heights.

Some houses in Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture were destroyed by the earthquake (French)

Local Kyodo news agency quoted Japan's Fire and Disaster Management Agency as saying it had "instructed more than 90,9 people in <> prefectures to evacuate."

About 33,500 homes in Ishikawa, Toyama and Niigata prefectures, all located on the Sea side of Japan on the island of Honshu, were without power, local authorities said.

Japanese television images showed a fire in Wajima, without providing further details, and several houses collapsed.

Major highways were also closed on Monday around the epicenter, the road operator said, and the East Japan Railway Co. announced it had suspended operations of all Tohoku, Juetsu and Hokuriku Shinkansen lines due to the quake, Kyodo said.

Japan is constantly witnessing earthquakes due to their occurrence in the "Ring of Fire" region of the Pacific Ocean, which is witnessing high seismic activity, and this region extends from Southeast Asia to the Pacific basin, so the authorities in the archipelago impose strict building standards so that buildings are generally resistant to strong earthquakes, while residents are used to these situations that they prepare for regularly.

Source: Agencies