Japan earthquake: Watch metro train swing wildly; videos from inside houses, CCTVs; tsunami warning

Startling videos emerged from Japan as the island nation was hit by a powerful earthquake on March 16. The 7.3-magnitude temblor reportedly jolted east Japan, prompting a tsunami advisory for the northeast coast.

An unverified video posted online showed handles inside a metro train swinging wildly. An unverified video from inside a house was scary to say the least, as furniture bounced around, and books fell off shelves.

Other videos emerged of CCTV cameras shaking as the quake jolted buildings. The cameras kept jittering for many seconds. In some videos flashes of light were seen in the distance as buildings vibrated. Some videos showed poles erected at streets trembling wildly.

Around 20 lakh homes reportedly lost electricity after the quake. These included around 7 lakh homes in Japan's capital Tokyo. The epicentre of the quake was off the coast of Fukushima at a depth of around 60 km.

Another source of worry was the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The nuclear facility reportedly went into meltdown in 2011 when a 9.0-magnitude quake hit the country.

TEPCO said that it was checking operations at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, while the nuclear regulation authority reportedly said that no abnormalities were detected at the Onagawa facility.