The magnitude 6.2 quake struck Ishikawa prefecture on the west coast of Japan’s main island of Honshu, the US Geological Survey said. The Japan Meteorological Agency measured the quake at 6.5 and said it was centered at a depth of about 12 kilometers (7.5 miles).
One person was reported dead and at least 13 were injured in Suzu city at the northern tip of Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa prefecture, a city official said. He said six homes were damaged and rain could trigger mudslides, causing further damage.
He did not say how the person died, but the Fire and Disaster Management Agency reported that a person was found without vital signs after falling from a ladder. It said another person was injured when a cabinet fell on them, and two people were rescued from damaged buildings in the city.
A video broadcast by NHK public television showed a section of a hill that had crumbled and fallen on a house. It also broadcast a video taken by a reporter who was visiting his family in Ishikawa prefecture that showed a room shaking for nearly half a minute, with picture frames rattling on the walls. Japan is celebrating several national holidays this week.
East Japan Railway Co. said bullet trains connecting Tokyo and Kanazawa in Ishikawa prefecture were temporarily halted for safety checks but resumed normal operations, with some delays.
Japan is one of the world’s most earthquake-prone nations. A massive 2011 quake in the country’s northeast caused a devastating tsunami and nuclear plant meltdown.A magnitude 6.3 earthquake, which measured a strong 6 on the shindo (intensity) scale, jolted Ishikawa Prefecture on Friday afternoon, with authorities investigating reports of injuries and collapsed buildings.
There was no threat of a tsunami, but sea level changes of less than 20 cm were possible, the Meteorological Agency said. Local police in the city of Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture — near the quake’s epicenter — said there were reports of injuries and that several buildings had collapsed, NHK reported.
The quake occurred at 2:42 p.m. on the northern tip of Ishikawa Prefecture’s Noto Peninsula on the Sea of Japan coast, located about 300 kilometers northwest of Tokyo. The quake occurred at a depth of 10 kilometers.
Strong 6, which was recorded in the city of Suzu, is the second-highest level on Japan’s intensity scale. The level of shaking can make it “impossible to remain standing or move without crawling,” the Meteorological Agency says.
In an emergency news conference on Friday afternoon, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said the government was working to respond to the quake.
“We will continue to assess the extent of the damage and, in close cooperation with local authorities, will do our best to implement emergency-disaster measures,” Matsuno said.
He called on citizens to pay close attention to evacuation information announced by local authorities, as well as information on television, radio and the internet.
Matsuno added that the area could be hit by aftershocks of a similar strength. An quake measuring shindo 4 followed soon after the initial jolt.
The quake led to the suspension of some train lines, including the Hokuriku Shinkansen between Nagano and Kanazawa stations, West Japan Railway said. Parts of that section later resumed service.
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings reported no damage at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in Niigata Prefecture, while Hokuriku Electric Power reported no problems at the Shika nuclear power plant in Ishikawa Prefecture.A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Japan’s central Ishikawa region on Friday but no tsunami warning was issued, the weather agency said.
The quake hit at 2:42 pm at a depth of 10 kilometers, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
Shinkansen bullet trains were suspended between Nagano and Kanazawa, a popular tourist site, according to Japan Railway.
The quake registered an upper six on the Japanese Shindo scale of up to seven in Suzu city, Ishikawa, meaning it could cause major landslides.
The US Geological Survey put the magnitude of the quake at 6.2.
Earthquakes are common in Japan, which sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity that stretches through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.
