Strong magnitude 6.9 quake rattles Japan

Posted February 03, 2013 06:44:09

A powerful magnitude 6.9 earthquake has hit northern Japan, injuring 10 people and causing strong tremors across Hokkaido island.

The quake, which was preceded by an early warning broadcast on television and radio, hit near the town of Obihiro at a depth of 103 kilometres at 11.17pm (local time), according to US Geological Survey data.

Ten people suffered minor injuries due to falling objects, broken glass and other incidents, according to national broadcaster NHK.

Authorities said no serious damage was reported and the quake did not generate a tsunami.

The shaking lasted about a minute, and video taken in the offices of NHK Hokkaido showed computer screens swaying and shelves threatening to give way.

Bottles smashed to the ground in supermarkets, some areas had power blackouts and a number of highways were closed.

Trains were stopped on rural tracks as a precaution.

"Beware of possible landslides and buildings that could have been weakened," an official from Japan's Meteorological Agency warned at a press conference.

The most violent tremors were felt in the eastern part of Hokkaido - the nation's second largest island and a popular skiing destination - but the northern part of the island was also shaken along with parts of the main island of Honshu, where Tokyo is located.

Officials say the several nuclear facilities in the region have not been damaged.

Utility firms said no abnormalities were reported at the Tomari nuclear plant in Hokkaido's west, nor in the nuclear facilities in Aomori, the northernmost prefecture on Honshu.

Aomori is home to the Higashidori nuclear reactors and a nuclear reprocessing plant in Rokkasho which is currently in a testing phase, as well as fuel storage sites.

At present, only two of the country's 50 reactors are operational, after the entire network was shuttered over several months for scheduled safety checks following the quake-tsunami disaster of March 2011.

Since the Fukushima disaster the country has been fearing another quake catastrophe.


Topics: earthquake, disasters-and-accidents, japan