Strong aftershocks rattled western Japan early yesterday after two powerful earthquakes the evening before injured 38 people.
Meanwhile, a powerful typhoon hit Japan's southern islands, injuring 21 people, and the Meteorological Agency warned the storm could bring heavy rains and mudslides to areas hit by the temblors.
PHOTO: AP
The two offshore quakes on Sunday -- the first with a magnitude of 6.9, followed by a 7.3-magnitude temblor five hours later -- were felt most strongly in sparsely populated areas in southwestern Wakayama prefecture, about 450km west of Tokyo.
They also shook the major cities of Osaka, Kyoto and Nagoya, and caused buildings to sway in Tokyo.
The National Police Agency said 38 people were hurt, including three people with broken bones. Most were injured in the second, more powerful quake.
Aftershocks continued to rattle the region early yesterday, including a magnitude-5.7 tremor, according to the Meteorological Agency. No damage or injuries were immediately reported.
"A series of magnitude-5 after-shocks could continue up to the next 10 days. They could cause tsunami waves, and I urge people to evacuate to higher ground," public broadcaster NHK quoted Yoshinobu Tsuji, assistant professor at the University of Tokyo's Earthquake Research Institute, as saying yesterday.
Tsunami -- waves triggered by seismic activity -- as high as 90cm were recorded along the Pacific coastline on Sunday, though the Meteorological Agency lifted its tsunami warnings early yesterday.
Kyodo News agency also reported that 600 homes were without electricity, while high-speed train services were temporarily suspended.
Also yesterday, Typhoon Songda was packing winds of up to 144kph as it headed across the East China Sea toward Japan's southernmost main island of Kyushu, the Meteorological Agency said.
Police said 21 people had been injured by the storm and tens of thousands of homes were without electricity.
Though the typhoon is still far away from quake-hit areas, the Meteorological Agency said the storm could bring heavy rains and warned that landslides were increasingly likely following the temblors.
The two quakes late on Sunday occurred far off Japan's Pacific coast, which may have minimized damage.
The first quake was centered about 110km off the coast of Wakayama on the Kii peninsula and 10km beneath the ocean floor.
The second quake was centered about 130km off the coast of Kochi prefecture, also 10km below the seabed.
Authorities said it was too early to say whether the bigger of the two earthquakes was the major jolt the Japanese government had predicted would strike central Japan.
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