Buildings collapsed, 4 out of 5 buried rescued after M6.8 quake hits Japan's Nagano - UPDATED

Buildings collapsed, 4 out of 5 buried rescued after M6.8 quake hits JapanUPDATED '>
# 23 November 2014 01:27 (UTC +04:00)

The damaged homes were reported at Hakuba village in the northern part of the prefecture, and four out of five people that were buried under debris have been rescued while the last one is not in a life-threatening situation, according to reports.

Separate reports said at least 10 people were wounded in Hakuba. It is still unclear whether the figure included the ones buried. A building was seriously damaged in another village, said reports, adding two people at their 70s and 80s were injured in Nagano city.

Several aftershocks were recorded following the 6.8-magnitude temblor, with two registered at 4.3-magnitude and 4.1-magnitude respectively. Japan's Meteorological Agency (JMA) warned of the possibility of strong aftershocks in the week.

The strong quake triggered no tsunami alerts, said JMA, adding active fault move triggered the quake.

The epicenter was initially detected at around 36.7 degrees north latitude and 137.9 degrees east longitude, with a depth of 10 km, said the agency.

The 6.8-magnitude quake was registered at lower 6 of Japan's seismic scale of 7 in parts of the prefecture and lower 5 in neighboring Niigata Prefecture, said the agency.

Japan's public broadcaster NHK said the strong tremor of the M6. 8 quake lasted about 15 seconds, adding no abnormality was not found in a nuclear power plant in Niigata.

The quake triggered black-out in some areas and the power failure has affected Shinkansen bullet train services in the region.

The quake also triggered landslides in Hakuba, which have blocked roads. Some roads in Nagano and Niigata were damaged. The local fire department is still checking for possible damage and injuries.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said late Saturday that the government has set up a disaster relief office and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has given instructions on rescue works.

Suga also said the government will send members of the Self- Defense Forces to the quake-hit areas.

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