A powerful magnitude 7 earthquake hit Japan's southernmost main island of Kyushu, sending sizable tremors to southern South Korea on Sunday.

The earthquake shook buildings and homes in Busan, Korea's second largest city located some 400 kilometers south of Seoul, forcing people to evacuate.
However, officials at the Korea Meteorological Administration said there were no reports of casualties, and that the tremors, estimated between 4 and 5 on the Richter scale, were felt throughout most of Busan and nearby regions in South Gyeongsang Province. Minor quakes were reported as far north as Suwon in Gyeonggi Province, just 46-kilometers south of the capital.

South Korean authorities had issued tsunami warnings for the southern and east coast regions in the morning, but they were removed as of noon.

Meantime, in Japan, the NHK reported cracks in pavement, leaning building walls, and suspended bullet train operations.

Japanese media said the quake occurred off the western coast of the Fukuoka Prefecture, about 550 miles southwest of Tokyo on the island of Kyushu.

South Korea, distanced from quake-prone Japan by a sea, is relatively free of quakes.