JAPAN: Japan is clearing up after a major earthquake rattled the north of the country yesterday, injuring dozens of people, triggering a tsunami warning and shutting down several nuclear power stations and train lines.
The 7.2-magnitude quake struck off the coast of Miyagi prefecture, about 290km (180 miles) north of Tokyo at 11.46am local time, and was felt throughout most of the main island of Honshu.
Landslides and collapsed buildings were reported as far as 200 miles from the epicentre, and Tokyo-bound bullet-trains and the runway at Japan's main international gateway, Narita airport, were temporarily shut down.
In Tokyo, tall buildings swayed for up to a minute and lifts stopped, trapping people inside. A small tsunami wave was reported in several places along the coastline before the government lifted its warning.
Initial reports were that at least 62 people had been injured, including 26 who were swimming in an indoor pool in Sendai City when the roof collapsed, showering them with glass and debris.
"The roof panels just gave way and came down on top of us," one of the swimmers told state broadcaster NHK. "I was hit on the head by one and almost knocked out. It was terrifying."
"I've never experienced such a powerful earthquake," a resident of Kawasaki in Miyagi prefecture said. "I didn't know what to do so I just crawled under the table and trembled."
Another man who watched his house collapse in Saitama prefecture, north of Tokyo, said: "It was almost like watching a movie in slow motion. I couldn't believe it and I just completely froze. Nothing is scarier than an earthquake."
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who is currently fighting an election, took a break from campaigning to visit the government's crisis management centre, set up to oversee rescue and monitoring operations. Several military units have already been sent to Miyagi to help clean up.
It was Japan's strongest quake since last October's devastating 6.8 tremor in Niigata prefecture about 240km (150 miles) north of Tokyo, which killed 36 people and wounded over 2,000. A magnitude-six quake hit the Tokyo metropolitan area last month, injuring at least 27 people.
Despite the severity of the damage to some areas, government officials were last night saying it could have been worse. A 1978 quake in almost exactly the same area killed 28 and injured more than 10,000 people, indicating that Japan is better equipped to deal with large tremors since 1995's Kobe earthquake killed 6,400 people, shattering faith in the country's disaster-prevention measures.
But yesterday has again raised fears about the safety of Japan's nuclear power plants, at least three of which across several prefectures automatically shut down when the quake hit. Japan has accelerated the building of new plants in response to threats to oil supplies from the Middle East, despite sitting on one of the world's most unstable geographical foundations.
Tokyo lives in permanent fear of a repeat of the horrific 1923 earthquake that killed 140,000 people. A government report last December estimated a similar quake today could cause 13,000 deaths, and said there is a 70 per cent chance of such a disaster happening within the next 30 years.
Yoshio Kushida, an independent scientist who has dedicated his life to trying to forecast earthquakes, says he will never return to the city. "I was so frightened growing up there. It's the most dangerous city in the world. They should never have made it the capital."