A strong earthquake yesterday shook an area in northern Japan still recovering from last month's magnitude-6.8 quake, the Meteorological Agency said. The latest tremor sent residents dashing under tables, and led to at least one injury.
A magnitude 5.2 jolt, an aftershock to last month's quake, struck at 8:57am and was centered about 20km below the earth's surface in a rural part of Niigata prefecture about 250km north of Tokyo.
PHOTO: AP
The agency warned of the possibility of more strong quakes over the next month.
The Oct. 23 earthquake and several large aftershocks in the days that followed killed 38 people and injured over 2,000. It was the deadliest quake to hit Japan since 1995, when a magnitude 7.2 quake killed 6,000 people in the western city of Kobe.
On Thursday, city officials said a 40-year-old man, who was cooking at a market when the shaking began, suffered burns to his hand by a hot pan. Officials received reports of burst water pipes and minor landslides of rain-loosened topsoil.
Television footage showed telephone poles and trees swaying and buildings shuddering when the temblor struck. Inside Ojiya city hall, near the site of the worst destruction from last month's quake, officials holding a meeting grabbed their chairs or ducked below tables while the building shook.
Officials said the shaking automatically triggered safety devices that shut down a nuclear reactor at a power plant and temporarily cut electricity to express "bullet" trains in the area.
Tokyo Electric Power Co spokesman Motoyasu Tamachi said the nuclear plant in Kashiwazaki city was being inspected but that the shutdown had no impact on the outside environment.
The aftershock hit as many public schools in the area reopened for the first time since last month's quake.
Over 46,000 people remain in emergency shelters in Niigata on Wednesday because their homes were completely or partially destroyed in the quake. Many were also too afraid to go home as aftershocks continue, creating the risk their homes will be further damaged.
Japan, which rests atop several tectonic plates, is among the world's most earthquake-prone countries.
A magnitude 5 earthquake can cause damage to homes if it occurs in a residential area.
PRECARIOUS RELATIONS: Commentators in Saudi Arabia accuse the UAE of growing too bold, backing forces at odds with Saudi interests in various conflicts A Saudi Arabian media campaign targeting the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has deepened the Gulf’s worst row in years, stoking fears of a damaging fall-out in the financial heart of the Middle East. Fiery accusations of rights abuses and betrayal have circulated for weeks in state-run and social media after a brief conflict in Yemen, where Saudi airstrikes quelled an offensive by UAE-backed separatists. The United Arab Emirates is “investing in chaos and supporting secessionists” from Libya to Yemen and the Horn of Africa, Saudi Arabia’s al-Ekhbariya TV charged in a report this week. Such invective has been unheard of
US President Donald Trump on Saturday warned Canada that if it concludes a trade deal with China, he would impose a 100 percent tariff on all goods coming over the border. Relations between the US and its northern neighbor have been rocky since Trump returned to the White House a year ago, with spats over trade and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney decrying a “rupture” in the US-led global order. During a visit to Beijing earlier this month, Carney hailed a “new strategic partnership” with China that resulted in a “preliminary, but landmark trade agreement” to reduce tariffs — but
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) purge of his most senior general is driven by his effort to both secure “total control” of his military and root out corruption, US Ambassador to China David Perdue said told Bloomberg Television yesterday. The probe into Zhang Youxia (張又俠), Xi’s second-in-command, announced over the weekend, is a “major development,” Perdue said, citing the family connections the vice chair of China’s apex military commission has with Xi. Chinese authorities said Zhang was being investigated for suspected serious discipline and law violations, without disclosing further details. “I take him at his word that there’s a corruption effort under
China executed 11 people linked to Myanmar criminal gangs, including “key members” of telecom scam operations, state media reported yesterday, as Beijing toughens its response to the sprawling, transnational industry. Fraud compounds where scammers lure Internet users into fake romantic relationships and cryptocurrency investments have flourished across Southeast Asia, including in Myanmar. Initially largely targeting Chinese speakers, the criminal groups behind the compounds have expanded operations into multiple languages to steal from victims around the world. Those conducting the scams are sometimes willing con artists, and other times trafficked foreign nationals forced to work. In the past few years, Beijing has stepped up cooperation
RSS