Cerebral Soup - The Archives
quakes in Niigata and Nagano
I woke up this morning to a rumble - then got ready to spend Umi no Hi (Ocean Day) down the beach. Well that quake at 10:13 am was a 3 here - but a 6 in Nagano and Niigata.
From tenki.jp
At 10:34am there was a 3 in the same region.
10:52am - another 3 quake.
11:00am - 3 in some areas, 2 in others. And again 5 minutes later. Also following at 11:12am, 11:24am, 11:50am, 11:56am, 12:20pm, 1:17pm, 2:07pm, and 3:26pm.
In between these times there were a series of quakes with a rating of one.
To give you some perspective a quake with a rating of 3 on the Japanese scale is enough to wake me up from a drunken slumber. You take notice of a 3.
At 3:37pm, a weak 6 hit the area.
For most the epicentre was off Niigata Prefecture in the ocean.
At 5:24pm a 3 quake was recorded in Kyushu.
A series of smaller quakes has been occurring in the Nagano and Niigata regions.
4,900 people have moved into emergency shelters. All utilities - water, gas and electricity are cut off in many areas.
5 people have died, 700 injured. Over 300 homes have been flattened.
Update 7:14pm: they are hoping to have gas restored to some areas soon. The evacuees do not have enough water, and there are very few toilets available.
Authorities have said they will be preparing food for the evacuees - but no time has been given. They are all waiting for water to be delivered to the area.
Update 7:20pm: Another person has just died, bringing the total to 6.
These quakes have been noted as being worse than the ones in the area back in 2004. These follow on the heels of Typhoon #4, which ripped through southern Japan over the last few days, fortunately diverting before hitting us here in Kanto.
TV screenshots
Update 7:51pm: Authorities have warned to expect large aftershocks of 5 or even 6 over the next week.
Update 8:44pm: Another person has been confirmed dead, bringing the death toll to 7. The number of injured is now 800.
Phone lines are still congested - it has been requested that you do not call these areas unless it's an emergency.
Update 9:14pm: There has just been a 4 quake in Niigata.
Train services: It's unknown when train services will resume in the affected area. Carriages have derailed but JR East will not start repair work until the area is free of aftershocks.
Fortunately no JR workers or passengers were injured in the derailings.
7,800 people have now moved into emergency shelters for the night. Most houses do not have any utilities even if their houses are OK.
No tsunami warning has been issued following this latest quake.
Update 9:26pm: 8,500+ people have now entered emergency shelters.
Train services on the main shinkansen line have resumed to Niigata.
Posted by mjd-s on July 16, 2007 6:43 PM