Strong quake shakes buildings in Tokyo
AFP News – Sat, Apr 16, 2011 11:16 AM MYTRelated Content
Enlarge PhotoUnusually calm street is seen at nine in the morning in Ginza district of Tokyo. …
A strong earthquake of magnitude 5.8 hit central Japan on Saturday morning, according to the US Geological Survey.
The quake, which shook buildings in Tokyo, struck at 11:19 am (0219 GMT), 83 kilometres (52 miles) north of the capital and at a depth of 20 kilometres, the USGS said.
Operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) said the tremor did not disrupt the emergency crews who are working around the clock to cool crippled reactors at a nuclear plant hit by a devastating earthquake and tsunami last month.
That earthquake -- the biggest ever recorded in Japan -- struck on March 11, triggering a huge tsunami and leaving 13,591 people dead, with another 14,497 still unaccounted for.
Tens of thousands of people lost their homes, while many others were forced to evacuate after a series of explosions at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant sent radiation spewing into the air.
The radiation leaks have resulted in bans on produce from the affected area and hurt the fishing and farming industries because of public fears over radioactivity in food.
On Friday, Japan's government ordered TEPCO to offer payouts to tens of thousands of people made homeless by the ongoing crisis.
The total cost from collapsed or damaged houses, factories and infrastructure such as roads and bridges is estimated to reach 16-25 trillion yen over the next three fiscal years, according to the Cabinet Office.
There were no immediate reports of any damage or casualties from Saturday's quake, which the Japan Meteorological Agency said had a magnitude of 5.9 and struck at a depth of 70 kilometres underground.
Earthquake shakes Australia, New Zealand
Moderate earthquakes rattled parts of Australia and New Zealand on Saturday, including the devastated city of Christchurch where power was cut to thousands of homes, officials said.
No major damage was reported from either quake, and no tsunami warning was issued.
The magnitude-5.2 quake that struck Christchurch was far less powerful than one that leveled office blocks and homes in the New Zealand city on Feb. 22, killing at least 169 people and devastating the downtown area.
Energy supplier Orion said Saturday's quake cut power to about 20,000 homes and businesses in the city, but officials were working quickly to restore service. No other damage was reported.
Christchurch has been hit by scores of aftershocks since the February disaster.
Eighteen minutes before New Zealand's earthquake Saturday, a magnitude-5.2 quake hit about 80 miles (125 kilometers) southeast of the Australian coastal city of Townsville in Queensland state, at a depth of about 6 miles (10 kilometers) below the ocean floor.
"It scared my daughter enough that she jumped on the couch with me and my windows were rattling," Townsville local government councilor Natalie Marr said.
Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported from Queensland that residents of several towns and cities along the coast felt the quake.
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