16 hurt in Japan quake
A strong 6.4-magnitude earthquake rocked Japan, sparking a tsunami advisory that was later lifted with no reports yesterday of major damage and only a handful of light injuries.
The nation’s meteorological agency had warned on Tuesday that a 1m-high wave could hit the coast of the Sea of Japan, north of here, but only small ripples of 10cm were recorded.
The agency cancelled the tsunami advisory around 2½ hours after the quake.
The earthquake registered six on the Japanese scale, which goes up to a maximum of seven and was felt in the capital, which is more than 300km away.
The United States Geological Survey put the magnitude of the quake at 6.4.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said his government would be “on the maximum alert” to prepare for possible rescue operations in the region and warned citizens to be vigilant for strong aftershocks.
At least 16 were injured after the earthquake, authorities said.
In Niigata, a man in his 30s fell down and broke a bone, a woman in her 60s fell from her wheelchair and sustained light injuries, and two others were also lightly injured, the prefecture’s disaster management department said.
In Yamagata, at least 12 people were injured, “but we are still gathering information on details,” the prefecture’s disaster management official said.
The earthquake struck late in mainly sparsely populated areas, so it was not easy to evaluate the damage immediately.
Witnesses cited by national broadcaster NHK said they experienced strong shaking that knocked some books off shelves and moved some furniture.
Officials immediately stopped bullet train services in the region as a precautionary measure, but resumed operation yesterday, according to NHK.
Thousands of households were left without power temporarily, but power supply recovered yesterday, NHK also said.
An agency official told an emergency news conference that residents in the region should stay vigilant as “a sizeable earthquake may occur again”.