Related News
Strong earthquake, tsunami warning in south Japan
Source: Agencies |
February 27, 2010, Saturday
|
Online Edition
Online Edition
A MAGNITUDE 6.9 earthquake hit off Japan's southern coast early today, shaking Okinawa and nearby islands, where a tsunami warning was briefly issued, Japan's Meteorological Agency said.
The quake occurred off the coast of the island of Okinawa at a depth of 6.2 miles (10 kilometers) at 5:31 am today (2031 GMT yesterday), the agency said.
There have been no reports of major damage or casualties so far, except for reports of ruptured water pipes in two locations, Okinawa police official Noritomi Kikuzato said.
The Meteorological Agency had initially predicted a tsunami up to 6 feet (2 meters) near the Okinawan coast, warning nearby residents to stay away from the coastline. The agency later lifted the warning within two hours after observing only a small swelling of tide.
Ryota Ueno, a town official in the Nishihara district of Okinawa, said, "I was fast asleep when the quake hit, and I jumped out of bed. It felt like the shaking lasted forever."
There was no major damage in his house, and he then rushed to the town office to meet up with his colleagues and stand by in case of reports of damage from residents, Ueno told a telephone interview with public broadcaster NHK.
So far, only one resident in the town reported a ruptured water pipe, but no other damage reported, he said.
Masaaki Nakasone, another official at he Nanjo town, said his house shook violently but all furniture and other objects stayed intact.
"First there was a vertical shaking, then the house swayed sideways," Nakasone said.
Okinawa is about 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) southwest of Tokyo.
Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries. In 1995, a magnitude-7.2 quake in the western port city of Kobe killed 6,400 people.
The quake occurred off the coast of the island of Okinawa at a depth of 6.2 miles (10 kilometers) at 5:31 am today (2031 GMT yesterday), the agency said.
There have been no reports of major damage or casualties so far, except for reports of ruptured water pipes in two locations, Okinawa police official Noritomi Kikuzato said.
The Meteorological Agency had initially predicted a tsunami up to 6 feet (2 meters) near the Okinawan coast, warning nearby residents to stay away from the coastline. The agency later lifted the warning within two hours after observing only a small swelling of tide.
Ryota Ueno, a town official in the Nishihara district of Okinawa, said, "I was fast asleep when the quake hit, and I jumped out of bed. It felt like the shaking lasted forever."
There was no major damage in his house, and he then rushed to the town office to meet up with his colleagues and stand by in case of reports of damage from residents, Ueno told a telephone interview with public broadcaster NHK.
So far, only one resident in the town reported a ruptured water pipe, but no other damage reported, he said.
Masaaki Nakasone, another official at he Nanjo town, said his house shook violently but all furniture and other objects stayed intact.
"First there was a vertical shaking, then the house swayed sideways," Nakasone said.
Okinawa is about 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) southwest of Tokyo.
Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries. In 1995, a magnitude-7.2 quake in the western port city of Kobe killed 6,400 people.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
