3dGameMan
08-16-2005, 06:24 AM
Major quake hits northern Japan, some injuries: ~source (http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-08-16T052406Z_01_HO612701_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-QUAKE-JAPAN-DC.XML)
TOKYO (Reuters) - A major earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 jolted northern Japan on Tuesday, injuring at least 27 people, causing power outages and snarling transportation.
Buildings also swayed in Tokyo, about 300 km (190 miles) to the south, when the tremor struck at 11:46 a.m. (0246 GMT) but there were no reports of damage or injuries in the capital.
Injury reports were still being compiled, but Kyodo news agency said 27 people had been injured in the mainly agricultural region, which also has several big cities and high-tech factories.
One person was seriously hurt and 13 others slightly injured when part of the ceiling at an indoor swimming pool collapsed, said an official in Sendai, a city with a population of about one million. Early reports had said up to 80 people had been hurt.
"There was a tremendous boom... People were screaming and headed toward the exit. It shook a lot... A lot of people were crying," a young woman who was at the pool told public broadcaster NHK.
Japan Meteorological Agency official Yasuo Sekita said strong aftershocks could still jolt the area.
"It is on the border of plates and earthquakes often occur," he told a news conference.
The agency initially rated the quake at magnitude 6.8.
One expressway was closed and trains -- including highspeed "bullet trains" -- were halted, but there were no reports of derailments. Some railways soon resumed service...
TOKYO (Reuters) - A major earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 jolted northern Japan on Tuesday, injuring at least 27 people, causing power outages and snarling transportation.
Buildings also swayed in Tokyo, about 300 km (190 miles) to the south, when the tremor struck at 11:46 a.m. (0246 GMT) but there were no reports of damage or injuries in the capital.
Injury reports were still being compiled, but Kyodo news agency said 27 people had been injured in the mainly agricultural region, which also has several big cities and high-tech factories.
One person was seriously hurt and 13 others slightly injured when part of the ceiling at an indoor swimming pool collapsed, said an official in Sendai, a city with a population of about one million. Early reports had said up to 80 people had been hurt.
"There was a tremendous boom... People were screaming and headed toward the exit. It shook a lot... A lot of people were crying," a young woman who was at the pool told public broadcaster NHK.
Japan Meteorological Agency official Yasuo Sekita said strong aftershocks could still jolt the area.
"It is on the border of plates and earthquakes often occur," he told a news conference.
The agency initially rated the quake at magnitude 6.8.
One expressway was closed and trains -- including highspeed "bullet trains" -- were halted, but there were no reports of derailments. Some railways soon resumed service...