More than 50 aftershocks shake Japan, while an earthquake kills one

Photo of author

By Webdesk


A magnitude 6.5 earthquake that struck the central Ishikawa region on Friday killed one man and injured more than 20.

Aftershocks rocked Japan a day after a powerful magnitude-6.5 earthquake killed at least one person and damaged buildings, emergency services said, as officials assessed damage from the quake that injured more than 20 people and shut down high-speed train lines.

Japan’s Kyodo News Agency reported that a 65-year-old man died when he fell from a ladder during the earthquake that hit the central Ishikawa region at a depth of 12 km (7 miles) on Friday afternoon.

About 55 aftershocks, some powerful, hit Saturday morning, the country’s disaster response agency said, as it warned that heavy rains could trigger landslides in affected areas.

At least 23 people were injured, the agency said.

Homes and a Shinto shrine were damaged while train services were disrupted, stranding passengers in stations on Friday, which was a public holiday in Japan, part of a series of days off known as “Golden Week”, when many people travel for their pleasure or to travel. visit family.

East Japan Railway Co said bullet trains between Tokyo and Kanazawa in Ishikawa Prefecture were temporarily halted for security checks, but resumed normal operation with some delay.

According to the Nuclear Regulation Authority, there were no anomalies at nuclear power plants in the area.

An official from Suzu in Ishikawa Prefecture, the hardest-hit city, said two people were rescued after they became trapped in destroyed buildings. Some residents of the prefecture were seen clearing debris in the rain after their wooden homes were partially destroyed.

The quake registered an upper six on Japan’s Shindo seismic scale, rising to a maximum of seven. Japan has strict building codes to ensure buildings can withstand strong earthquakes and routinely holds emergency drills to prepare for a major shock.

A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck a fishing village in the same region in 2007, injuring hundreds and damaging more than 200 buildings on the Noto Peninsula – a scenic area on the coast of the Sea of ​​Japan.

While earthquakes are common in Japan — which sits on the Pacific Ocean’s “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity in the Pacific basin — the country remains haunted by the memory of a massive, magnitude, undersea earthquake. of 9.0 for the northeast in March 2011. The earthquake generated a tsunami that left about 18,500 people dead or missing.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who had returned from a tour of four African countries and Singapore, said on Friday his government “will take action with a sense of urgency and will communicate closely with [officials] on the spot” of the last earthquake.

A video broadcast by public broadcaster NHK showed part of a hill that had crumbled and fallen on a house. It also aired a video taken by a staff member visiting a relative in Ishikawa Prefecture that showed a room shaking for nearly half a minute, with picture frames rattling on the walls. Japan celebrates several national holidays this week.





Source link

Share via
Copy link