Earthquake in central Japan kills one, hurts over 170

NOTO PENINSULA- A strong earthquake killed one person and injured more than 170 in Japan yesterday, demolishing houses, buckling roads, triggering landslides and cutting off water supplies to thousands of homes.

More than 1 300 people evacuated to shelters after 44 houses collapsed and some 200 others, mostly wooden with heavy tile roofs, were seriously damaged by the 6,9 magnitude earthquake, which struck at 00:42 GMT, officials and media said. The focus of the quake – which was also felt in Tokyo – was 11 km below the seabed off the Noto peninsula in Ishikawa prefecture, about 300 km west of Tokyo.The mountainous peninsula in central Japan is known for its hot spring resorts.More than 100 aftershocks jolted the area, including one with a magnitude of 5,3 more than eight hours after the first quake, which was the biggest in the area since records began in 1926.Officials warned more aftershocks could follow.A 52-year-old woman died in Wajima, a resort and fishing town on the western side of the peninsula, after being trapped under a stone lantern that toppled in her garden.In Nanao, a resort and fishing city with a population of around 60 000, ambulance services were flooded with calls to help people who had suffered burns and injuries.”I looked outside and electricity poles were shaking,” said Hiroshi Tanaka, a fire department official in Nanao.”Residents called in but they were calm and there weren’t many serious injuries.””One cook at an inn was deep-frying food and got burns.”About 40 people were being treated for mostly minor injuries in Wajima.Most were hurt from falls when the tremor struck or by being hit by falling objects, Kyodo news agency said.Anxious residents gathered outside their homes in the town of 34 000 people, some holding children in their arms.Around 1 200 Wajima residents whose homes were damaged were evacuated to schools and community centres and were receiving food and blankets, a city official said.TV footage showed collapsed wooden houses, tiles from roofs scattered on narrow streets, and people digging through piles of boards from fallen houses or trying to make repairs.About 30 troops arrived in the area to help assess the damage and some 400 police from neighbouring prefectures were heading for the site to provide assistance, media reported.The Japan Meteorological Agency originally estimated the magnitude at 7,1 but later revised it to 6,9.Nampa-ReutersThe focus of the quake – which was also felt in Tokyo – was 11 km below the seabed off the Noto peninsula in Ishikawa prefecture, about 300 km west of Tokyo.The mountainous peninsula in central Japan is known for its hot spring resorts.More than 100 aftershocks jolted the area, including one with a magnitude of 5,3 more than eight hours after the first quake, which was the biggest in the area since records began in 1926.Officials warned more aftershocks could follow.A 52-year-old woman died in Wajima, a resort and fishing town on the western side of the peninsula, after being trapped under a stone lantern that toppled in her garden.In Nanao, a resort and fishing city with a population of around 60 000, ambulance services were flooded with calls to help people who had suffered burns and injuries.”I looked outside and electricity poles were shaking,” said Hiroshi Tanaka, a fire department official in Nanao.”Residents called in but they were calm and there weren’t many serious injuries.””One cook at an inn was deep-frying food and got burns.”About 40 people were being treated for mostly minor injuries in Wajima.Most were hurt from falls when the tremor struck or by being hit by falling objects, Kyodo news agency said.Anxious residents gathered outside their homes in the town of 34 000 people, some holding children in their arms.Around 1 200 Wajima residents whose homes were damaged were evacuated to schools and community centres and were receiving food and blankets, a city official said.TV footage showed collapsed wooden houses, tiles from roofs scattered on narrow streets, and people digging through piles of boards from fallen houses or trying to make repairs.About 30 troops arrived in the area to help assess the damage and some 400 police from neighbouring prefectures were heading for the site to provide assistance, media reported.The Japan Meteorological Agency originally estimated the magnitude at 7,1 but later revised it to 6,9.Nampa-Reuters