Powerful quake strikes Japan

A POWERFUL magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit Japan’s southern-most main island of Kyushu yesterday, killing an elderly woman, injuring up to 400 people and forcing hundreds to flee their homes.

The focus of the shallow quake was off the western coast of Fukuoka Prefecture, about 900km southwest of Tokyo on the island of Kyushu.

It was felt as far away as Seoul, the capital of South Korea. Public broadcaster NHK showed footage of office buildings swaying in Fukuoka city, piles of glass from shattered windows and cracks in pavements. The quake also tilted many buildings around northern Kyushu.

A 75-year-old woman in Fukuoka city died from injuries after a cement-block wall fell on top of her, local police said.

Kyodo newsagency said about 400 people were treated at hospitals in Fukuoka city, near the focus of the tremor, and that 782 people in the city had evacuated their homes.

NHK said 386 were injured across northern Kyushu. Genkaijima, a small, hilly island 14km north-east of central Fukuoka with a population of around 700, was hit hard.

Media reports said 50 buildings on the island were destroyed and many more partially damaged.

At least seven residents were hurt and an elderly woman was rescued after being trapped for an hour inside a house. About 600 of the island’s residents were being evacuated to a gymnasium in Fukuoka city.

“I would feel worried if I stayed home, so I came with everyone else. I’m scared, and it brings tears to my eyes,” an elderly woman told television reporters.

Television footage of the island showed collapsed wooden houses, rocks strewn about from landslides, and many damaged houses, some of which were leaning to one side.

There were reports of broken water and gas mains around northern Kyushu, and bullet trains and other railways and subways suspended operations, but later resumed running.

The meteorological agency briefly issued tsunami warnings after the quake, but they were lifted about an hour later. Authorities said aftershocks up to 6 in magnitude were possible.

In October 2004, an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.8 struck the Niigata region in northern Japan, killing over 40 people. That was the deadliest quake since a magnitude 7.3 tremor hit Kobe in 1995, killing over 6,400.