Strong quake strikes northern Japan

A magnitude-5.9 earthquake rocked northern Japan this morning near the area where the country’s deadliest earthquake in a decade struck last month. At least eight people were injured.

The quake, which hit at 11.16 am (2.16am Irish time), was centred in the Chuetsu area of Niigata prefecture, the Meteorological Agency said.

Television footage from Niigata showed swaying power lines and ceiling lamps. Three weaker tremors of magnitudes 5.0, 4.5, and 4.2 struck in rapid succession in the 30 minutes following the initial aftershock, the Meteorological Agency said.

There was no danger of tsunami, or ocean waves triggered by seismic activity, it said.

A man in Uonuma was injured after he was briefly buried by a small landslide, said Atsushi Moriyama, a spokesman for Niigata prefecture. Five kindergarten students and their teacher were hurt in a nearby town when a wall they were walking past collapsed, and a woman was injured after she lost control of her motorbike, he said.

Takeshi Minagawa, an official at the town hall in Nakanoshima, among several towns where the quake shook strongest, said he felt 10 seconds of rocking.

The town closed several roads to confirm they were safe after the quake, Minagawa said.

The October 23 jolt that struck Niigata and aftershocks in the days that followed killed 39 people and injured more than 2,000. It was the deadliest quake to hit Japan since 1995, when a magnitude-7.2 quake killed 6,433 people in the western city of Kobe.

Meteorological Agency officials warned residents to avoid damaged structures because there was a greater risk they could crumble.

“Aftershocks are still occurring in this area and there is high probability another quake of the same strength will strike again within the next month or so,” agency official Masahiro Yamamoto said.

The government has yet to evaluate the full extent of damage from the quakes. According to a partial assessment conducted by the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry, damage to remote mountain roads and agricultural irrigation facilities is expected to exceed €716.5m.

Japan, which rests atop several tectonic plates, is among the world’s most earthquake-prone countries.

A magnitude-5 earthquake can cause damage to homes if it occurs in a residential area.