A powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake hit northeastern Japan on Tuesday, triggering a tsunami along the coast including a one-metre (three-foot) wave that crashed ashore at the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant. National broadcaster NHK urged residents to “flee immediately” to higher ground, reminding viewers to heed the lessons of the “Great East Japan Earthquake”. An official from plant operator TEPCO told a news conference that a one-metre wave had hit the coast at the facility, but a spokesman for the company told AFP there were no reports of damage.