Strong quake hits Osaka; 3 killed
Water flows out from cracks on a road damaged by an earthquake in Takatsuki, Osaka prefecture, Japan, in this photo taken by Kyodo yesterday.
TOKYO (AFP) — A powerful quake rocked Japan’s second city of Osaka yesterday, killing three people including a nine-year-old girl and injuring scores of others, according to an official tally.
Television images showed buildings swaying and burst pipes spewing water after the quake, which struck at the height of rush hour in the city of around two million people.
However, there was no large-scale destruction and no tsunami warning issued after the earthquake, although commuters were stranded and tens of thousands were left without power.
Among the casualties was a nine-year-old girl who died in the city of Takatsuki, north of Osaka city, reportedly trapped by a collapsed wall following
No Filipino was hurt or injured in the earthquake that struck Osaka yesterday.
The Philippine Consulate General in Osaka has not received any report of casualties among the 16,295 Filipinos living and working in the Kansai region, which was in the immediate epicenter of the earthquake.
— Pia Lee-Brago
the 5.3-magnitude quake.
Public broadcaster NHK said an 80-year-old man had also been killed by a collapsing wall and another man trapped under a bookcase in his home.
In addition to the three deaths, the government’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency said at least 91 people were injured.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters the government was “working united, with its first priority on saving people’s lives.”
And government spokesman Yoshihide Suga cautioned “there is a possibility that strong aftershocks will happen.”
“Large-scale quakes are likely to happen in the next two to three days,” he told reporters.
Japan sits on the so-called Pacific “Ring of Fire” where a large proportion of the world’s earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are recorded.
It also sent three reactors into meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant, causing Japan’s worst postwar disaster and the most serious nuclear accident since Chernobyl in 1986.
Local residents described the moment the quake jolted the highly urbanized area at 8 a.m., when platforms would have been heaving with passengers waiting to board their commuter trains.
“The floor moved violently. It was a strong vertical jolt. Nearly all of the dishes fell and shattered on the floor,” said Kaori Iwakiri, a 50-year-old nurse in Moriguchi, just north of Osaka city.
“My parents suffered a blackout and they have no water. I plan to take water to them now.”
Despite its relatively low magnitude, the quake caused quite a shake, registering a lower six on the Japanese experiential scale of up to seven, meaning it is hard to stay standing.