137 injured in northern Japan quake; water supply cut off to over 6,000 households
A total of 137 people had been injured as of 1 p.m. Sunday due to the earthquake that struck off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture late Saturday night, according to a tally by The Yomiuri Shimbun.
The number included 77 people in Fukushima Prefecture, 44 in Miyagi Prefecture and five in Tochigi Prefecture. Three women in their 60s to 80s in Fukushima, Saitama, and Chiba prefectures were seriously injured, including a woman who suffered a broken thighbone after falling at home.
There were no reports of deaths or missing persons.
In Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures, damage was confirmed to a total of 56 buildings, including houses, and water was cut off to more than 6,000 houses. According to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency of the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry, fires broke out in Sendai and Shiogama, both in Miyagi Prefecture, but they have been extinguished.
In Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, a roadside slope collapsed three kilometers north of the Soma Interchange on the Joban Expressway, blocking the road with earth and sand for about 70 meters. No casualties were believed to have occurred, and work was underway to remove the sand and soil.
According to electric power companies, a total of 850,000 households in the Tohoku and Kanto regions lost power immediately after the earthquake, but it was restored by 10 a.m. on Sunday.
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the earthquake is believed to be an aftershock of the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 2011. Two aftershocks measuring 3 on the Japanese intensity scale of maximum 7 were confirmed in Fukushima Prefecture, as well as six aftershocks measuring 2 on the scale, and 20 measuring 1, by noon Sunday.
There is a possibility of strong earthquakes with an intensity of upper 6 over the next week or so. The JMA has also called for caution against landslides, as the earthquake loosened the ground and rainfall is expected on Monday.