Tokyo, Aug 23 (IANS) At least 37 people were injured after a 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck Ibaraki Prefecture, northeast of Tokyo, early on Sunday.
The earthquake also caused burst water pipes and disruptions to transportation in some areas, local media reported.
Japan’s Fuji News Network, citing the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, reported that as of 10 a.m. local time, at least 37 people were injured in Tokyo, Ibaraki Prefecture, Kanagawa Prefecture and other areas, reports Xinhua news agency.
The earthquake temporarily disrupted some train services in the Kanto region, although operations are gradually being restored. Multiple water pipes burst in Tokyo and other areas, causing temporary flooding on some roads.
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the temblor occurred at around 2 a.m. local time on Sunday at a depth of about 70 km, measuring a lower 5 on Japan’s seismic intensity scale of 7 in parts of Ibaraki, Saitama and Chiba prefectures as well as Tokyo’s Adachi Ward.
A lower 5 quake is defined by the agency as shaking that causes most people to be frightened and to hold on to something stable, while objects may fall from shelves.
The quake was clearly felt in Tokyo, with some people living in the city posting on social media that it was the strongest shaking they had experienced in recent years. The tremor was also felt across a wide swath of the country, including northeastern and central Japan.
The weather agency urged the public to remain alert for an earthquake registering lower 5 over the next week, especially during the next two to three days.
No abnormalities were detected at the Tokai No. 2 nuclear power plant in Ibaraki Prefecture or the disaster-stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant and the nearby Fukushima Daini plant in northeastern Japan, according to their operators.
–IANS
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