(Update 2) Powerful Quake Rocks Central Japan, Killing One
Kanazawa, Ishikawa Pref., March 25 (Jiji Press)–A powerful earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 6.9 on the Richter scale rocked the Hokuriku region of central Japan Sunday morning, killing one woman and injuring more than 160 people.
The quake, which occurred at around 9:42 a.m. (12:42 a.m. GMT), measured 6 higher on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, and two other municipalities on Noto Peninsula, which juts into the Sea of Japan, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
The agency traced the quake’s focus to an estimated 11 kilometers underground off the peninsula.
In Wajima, a 52-year-old woman died when she was crushed by a falling stone lantern, local police said. A total of 146 people were injured, 15 of them seriously, in Ishikawa Prefecture, and 16 in the nearby prefectures of Toyama and Niigata.
According to the agency, tsunami waves of 20 centimeters reached the coast of Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, and other areas past 11 a.m.
In Ishikawa Prefecture, at least 44 houses collapsed and 69 were partially destroyed. A 400-year-old temple crumbled in Wajima.
The quake triggered landslides and caused cracks and cave-ins on roads, blocking traffic on some highways in the prefecture, while local railroad services were disrupted.
Electricity supply was temporarily cut off to approximately 160,000 households in Ishikawa and Toyama Prefectures, according to Hokuriku Electric Power Co. .
Intermittent aftershocks, including one with a magnitude of 5 lower on the Japanese scale, continued to jolt Wajima into the night. The agency warned that more may follow in the coming week.
A Ground Self-Defense Force unit was mobilized for disaster- relief operations at the request of Ishikawa Governor Masanori Tanimoto.
In Tokyo, the central government set up a task force at the crisis management center of the prime minister’s office. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki said at a hastily called news conference that the government has dispatched an investigation team headed by Kensei Mizote, minister for disaster management, to affected areas in order to collect information.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe instructed his aides to check the extent of damages caused by the quake and make every effort to ensure the safety of residents.
The earthquake measured 6 lower on the Japanese scale in the town of Shika, Ishikawa Prefecture. Two reactors at Hokuriku Electric Power’s nuclear power plant there were not affected because they have been shut down for inspections.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. said its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture is operating normally. The quake measured 5 lower in the village of Kariwa.
East Japan Railway Co. suspended its Joetsu Shinkansen bullet train operations between Echigoyuzawa Station and Niigata Station for nearly three hours.
The Noto airport in Wajima was closed because of cracks in its 2,000-meter runway.
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the earthquake is the first on record to register a magnitude of 6 or higher in Ishikawa Prefecture.END
(c) 2007 Jiji Press English News Service. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.