TOKYO – Residents in northeastern Japan on Sunday cleared rubble and rubble in shops and homes after a strong earthquake caused a landslide on a highway, damaged buildings and parts of the train tracks with bullets and caused thousands of people to have power outages .
The temple temperature with a strength of 7.3 late Saturday shook the earthquake-prone areas of Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures that were hit ten years ago by a powerful earthquake that caused a tsunami and a collapse at a nuclear power plant .
More than 140 people sustained mostly minor injuries, many of them by objects falling and cutting while stepping on broken glass. Three people were confirmed with serious injuries, but Katsunobu Kato, general secretary of the cabinet, received no reports of deaths.
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Evacuate shelter at a gym during an earthquake in the area of Soma, Fukushima, northeastern Japan, on Sunday, February 14, 2021. (Associated Press)
Tokyo Electric Power Co., the utility operating the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant hit by the March 2011 disaster, said the water used to cool spent fuel rods near the reactors was wasting due to the quake. But there were no radiation leaks or other irregularities, TEPCO said.
The quake did not cause a tsunami, as the epicenter was 55 kilometers deep in the ocean.
Noriko Kamaya, a spokesman for the Japanese Meteorological Agency, said at a news conference that the quake was considered a shock to the 2011 earthquake of 9.1.
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake shakes the city of Nihonmatsu, Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Sunday, February 14, 2021. (Associated Press)
Power was restored early Sunday, although some bullet train services were still suspended. East Japan Railway Co. said the cooling train on the north coast will be suspended until Monday due to damage to the plant.
TV recordings and videos shared on social media showed boxes, books and other items scattered on floors. In the northern city of Fukushima, Soma, a roof at a Buddhist temple collapsed.
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Workers were clearing a major coastal road connecting Tokyo and northern cities where a major landslide had occurred. Several other roads were also blocked by rocks.
Crashed rocks block a road after a strong earthquake hit the city of Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Sunday, February 14, 2021. (Associated Press)
Saturday’s powerful rattle less than a month before the tenth anniversary of the triple disaster in 2011 was a terrifying reminder of the earlier tragedy for residents in the region.
“It started with a slight shaking, and then suddenly became violent,” Yuki Watanabe, an employee of the store in the city of Minamisoma, in Fukushima, told the Asahi newspaper. “I was so scared,” she said, reminding herself of the 2011 earthquake.
This photo shows a damaged entrance of a house in the city of Kori, north of the city of Fukushima, northeastern Japan, on Sunday 14 February 2021 after an earthquake on Saturday. (Associated Press)
As she ran outside, she heard a banging sound coming from behind the store as glass bottles slammed off the shelves against the floor.
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Experts have warned of more aftershocks. Many residents spent the night in evacuation centers, where tents were set up as part of coronavirus protection measures.
Yasutoshi Nishimura, the minister in charge of economic and fiscal policy, expressed sympathy with those who sustained damage and injuries.
“The government will do our best to respond,” he said.
Defense troops were also mobilized to supply water in some areas.
Yuri Kageyama is on Twitter https://twitter.com/yurikageyama