TOKYO, March 14: A small tsunami hit Japan's northeastern coastline on Wednesday, officials said, after a strong earthquake rocked the region almost exactly a year on from the country's worst post-war natural disaster.

A 6.9-magtinude quake struck 26.6kms below the seabed off the northern island of Hokkaido in the Pacific at 6:08 pm local time (0908 GMT), the US Geological Survey said.

It was followed by a 20cm tsunami which had prompted local authorities to issue an evacuation warning for coastal residents before it hit land.

The waves hit several locations in Hokkaido as well as Aomori prefecture, which was one of the areas in Japan's northeast devastated by last year's disaster.

The Japanese meteorological agency had initially said a tsunami could be as high as 50 centimetres.-AFP