Posted on 10/23/2004 3:46:05 AM PDT by Strategerist
TOKYO (Reuters) - A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 and several big aftershocks have rocked northern Japan, killing at least one person, partially derailing a train, triggering landslides and knocking out electricity supplies, media reports say.
The focus of the initial quake, which struck at around 5:56 p.m. (9:56 a.m. British time), was 20 km deep in Niigata prefecture, some 250 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo.
The jolts, including aftershocks of magnitude up to 6.3, were also felt strongly in the capital.
At least one person had died, Kyodo news agency reported. Other media reported that several people had been injured.
A bullet train had derailed in Niigata and an expressway had partially collapsed, media reports said.
National broadcaster NHK said two cars of the bullet train had derailed but that there were no injuries. A railway official said he was still checking on the derailment reports.
NHK also said a landslide had buried three cars.
Japan has been hit by a record 10 typhoons this year, and officials said they were worried about more landslides in areas lashed recently by the heavy rains.
No tsunami warning was issued but several people were hurt when they were hit by objects that fell from shelves and some of bullet trains were halted, NHK said.
Private broadcaster Asahi TV said some 25,000 homes in the areas were without power. Traffic lights had gone out in the regional capital of Niigata City, NHK television showed.
Authorities were receiving calls from residents who said water and gas mains had been ruptured.
The quakes measured 6 on the Japanese scale in many parts of Niigata, meaning it would be difficult to keep standing.
The Japanese scale runs as high as seven.
Japan is one of the world's most seismically active areas, with an earthquake occurring every five minutes.
The country accounts for about 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude six or greater.
Memories are still vivid of the earthquake in the western city of Kobe which killed more than 6,400 people in 1995. That quake measured 7.2 on the Richter scale.
The last quake of 8.0 or higher in Japan was in 1994.
Condoleeza Rice just recently left Japan, thank God.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.