An earthquake measuring 7,0 on the Richter Scale rocked northeast Japan on Monday causing tremors that could be felt hundreds of kilometres away in Tokyo, the Meteorological Agency said.
The agency said the quake occurred at 6:24 pm (0924 GMT) and the epicentre was around 60km deep just off the coast of the Miyagi prefecture, about 300km north of the capital.
There was no risk of a major tsunami (tidal wave), said the agency.
”I’m on the sixth floor of the city hall building. I have never experienced such a big quake in recent years, but when I look outside I don’t see anything abnormal… no fires,” Hiromi Iwamoto, general affairs chief at Morioka city office said.
Telephone lines to local authorities and emergency services in quake-affected areas were jammed.
Television pictures showed a camera position overlooking the town of Morioka shaking violently and helicopter footage showed at least one house on fire in Sendai City.
Jiji Press Agency said that Sendai City fire department received several reports of fires, while Kyodo News Agency reported that one person was hurt in Miyagi Prefecture.
Bullet train services in northern Japan were halted, and all train services around Sendai and Morioka had been stopped, said East Japan Railway spokesperson Yoshihiro Nakamura.
The main runway at Tokyo’s Narita airport, the larger of its two runways, was closed for 30 minutes after 6:27 pm (0927 GMT) while officials checked for damage but none was found so flights resumed as normal, airport official Rumiko Oshi said.
Expressways and other toll roads near the quake region were also closed.
Japan is regularly hit by earthquakes. Its Pacific coastal shelf is regarded as highly prone to quakes with the Pacific plate and the Philippine plate rubbing against each other.
Japan’s vulnerability to quakes was confirmed in 1995 when a tremor measuring 7,2 killed some 6 400 people, injured 40 000 and destroyed 248 000 buildings in and around the western Japan port of Kobe. – Sapa-AFP