1 dead, at least 100 injured as earthquakes rock Asian areas
Source: Agencies |
August 12, 2009, Wednesday
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A PAIR of powerful earthquakes struck at opposite ends of Asia just 12 minutes apart yesterday, leaving one dead and more than 100 injured in Japan and sending panicked islanders in the Indian Ocean running into the streets.
The first quake, which registered 7.6 on the Richter scale according to the United States Geological Survey, hit the Indian Ocean about 257 kilometers north of Port Blair in India's Andaman Islands.
It prompted tsunami warnings in India, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand and Bangladesh, sparking fears of a repeat of the deadly 2004 quake-generated wave that devastated the region.
The warnings were later lifted, no tsunami was observed and there were no reports of injury or significant damage, said T. Ramakrishnan, a Port Blair police official.
"People ran out of their homes as they remembered the 2004 tsunami," he said.
Across the Pacific in central Japan, a 6.5-magnitude quake hit just 12 minutes later, about 5,470 kilometers from the first temblor.
One person was killed and several dozen injured when the quake rocked Tokyo and nearby areas just after dawn, halting trains and forcing two nuclear reactors to shut down for safety checks.
Police said a 43-year-old woman was killed by falling debris.
At least 103 people were injured, said Yuji Hakamata, an official at the Shizuoka prefectural government. Shizuoka, southwest of Tokyo, was the hardest-hit area.
Japan's Meteorological Agency also issued a tsunami warning, but that was lifted after only small waves were observed. The quake was centered off Suruga Bay, southwest of Tokyo, at a depth of 20 kilometers.
"The temblor was extraordinary. It was fortunate that the damage seems relatively small," said Gen Kimura, a 61-year-old rescue volunteer, in the town of Yaizu.
"I tried to stay calm, but the rest of my family panicked and they all went downstairs at once."
The first quake, which registered 7.6 on the Richter scale according to the United States Geological Survey, hit the Indian Ocean about 257 kilometers north of Port Blair in India's Andaman Islands.
It prompted tsunami warnings in India, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand and Bangladesh, sparking fears of a repeat of the deadly 2004 quake-generated wave that devastated the region.
The warnings were later lifted, no tsunami was observed and there were no reports of injury or significant damage, said T. Ramakrishnan, a Port Blair police official.
"People ran out of their homes as they remembered the 2004 tsunami," he said.
Across the Pacific in central Japan, a 6.5-magnitude quake hit just 12 minutes later, about 5,470 kilometers from the first temblor.
One person was killed and several dozen injured when the quake rocked Tokyo and nearby areas just after dawn, halting trains and forcing two nuclear reactors to shut down for safety checks.
Police said a 43-year-old woman was killed by falling debris.
At least 103 people were injured, said Yuji Hakamata, an official at the Shizuoka prefectural government. Shizuoka, southwest of Tokyo, was the hardest-hit area.
Japan's Meteorological Agency also issued a tsunami warning, but that was lifted after only small waves were observed. The quake was centered off Suruga Bay, southwest of Tokyo, at a depth of 20 kilometers.
"The temblor was extraordinary. It was fortunate that the damage seems relatively small," said Gen Kimura, a 61-year-old rescue volunteer, in the town of Yaizu.
"I tried to stay calm, but the rest of my family panicked and they all went downstairs at once."
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