Japan quake death toll hits 21
2004-10-24 19:48
Tokyo - Still reeling from a 6.8-level earthquake, Japan's northwestern Niigata prefecture was hit by another strong quake on Sunday afternoon measuring 4.9 on the Richter scale as the death toll from the previous hours rose to at least 22.
More than 2 100 people were injured, and many were still reported missing amid the devastation centred on the city of Ojiya.
It was the quake with the highest casualties since Japan's 1995 earthquake in the densely populated Kobe, which left 6 400 dead.
The initial quake, measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale, shook the region on Saturday at 18:00 and since triggered hundreds of aftershocks.
More to follow
Authorities warned of yet more to follow.
Up to 82 000 people had to spend a second night in crowded makeshift shelters or in the cold around open fires or oil-fired heaters and under blankets.
Emergency services were providing drinking water and food on Sunday.
Helicopters ferried more people from the worst-affected areas to safety, and search dogs were being used to find the missing.
Nonetheless, more than 1 000 residents in Yamakoshimura and similar mountain villages were still cut off on Sunday.
Houses were partially destroyed, streets ripped open, and thousands remained without gas or electricity.
Landslides struck after the quakes in some regions which had been ravaged by typhoon Tokage just three days previously, when 80 people died.
Many injured
Many people were injured by falling glass and other objects. NHK showed footage of fallen electricity masts and traffic lights, torn up roads, wrecked shops and homes.
In the worst-hit town of Ojiya, 350km from Tokyo, people were queuing for drinking water provided by soldiers and rescue workers.
Damage ensued in other parts of Niigata, about 350 kilometres northwest of Tokyo.
Fires broke out and water and gas pipes burst in parts. Tens of thousands of people were still without gas and electricity on Sunday, but repair teams were working flat out to reconnect them.
Central authorities in Tokyo, where the quake could also be felt, declared a state of emergency and dispatched experts and helicopters to the region.
One of Japan's high-speed "shinkansen" trains was de-railed for the first time in its history, but no-one was injured in the incident.
Telecommunications companies were forced to limit services in the region as systems were overburdened with calls.
Some factories were temporarily forced to close.
To finance the huge damages caused by the quakes and the typhoon the government would have to draw up a new budget, reports said on Sunday.
- SAPA