Sunday, 20 March, 2005, 09:52 GMT

Japan struck by strong earthquake
At least 250 people in Japan have been injured and at least one killed by a powerful earthquake, reports say.
The quake - which had a magnitude of seven - damaged buildings and cut utility supplies.

It struck west of Kyushu Island, just 9km (5.5 miles) below the ocean floor. Several strong aftershocks followed.

Initial fears that the quake might set off a tsunami were later dispelled by the Meteorological Agency. "We aren't worried about tsunami damage," it said.

Most of the injuries came in Fukuoka prefecture.

People were hurt by falling furniture, broken glass, or by hot cooking stoves, public broadcaster NHK said.

Kyodo news agency said a 75-year-old woman had died.

'First experience'

"We have had frightened residents coming to the store because their own homes are shaking with every aftershock," said Shigeru Harada, a manager at a supermarket in Fukuoka city.

"It was so strong that I thought my house would collapse. I rushed to turn off the stove and got out. I felt uneasy because it was my first experience," said Toshiyuki Yasukawa, a Fukuoka official.

Water and gas supplies were disrupted, while bullet train services were stopped by automatic trigger systems.

In the tiny island of Genkai, off the coast of Kyushu, about 100 residents left their homes as some collapsed and others were badly damaged, NHK said.

The quake was also felt in South Korea, but there was no major damage reported there.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4365499.stm

Sun, Mar 11:00am 20, 2005

Earthquake in Japan Kills 1, Injures 400

2 hours, 18 minutes ago Top Stories - AP

By SHIZUO KAMBAYASHI, Associated Press Writer

FUKUOKA, Japan - A powerful earthquake struck off the coast of southern Japan on Sunday, killing an elderly woman and injuring at least 400 people, damaging buildings and prompting authorities to evacuate half the residents of a tiny island near the epicenter.

The magnitude-7.0 temblor, which hit west of Kyushu Island at 10:53 a.m., was centered at an unusually shallow depth of 5.5 miles below the ocean floor, the Japanese Meteorological Agency said. At least one aftershock with a magnitude of 4.2 was recorded.

Minutes after the shaking began, the agency warned of the possibility of 20-inch tsunami waves triggered by the seismic activity. Such waves can grow to towering heights as they approach land, and authorities cautioned residents near the water to move to higher ground. But the agency withdrew the warning after about an hour.

"There may be some disturbance of the ocean's surface, but we aren't worried about tsunami damage," said Masahiro Yamamoto of the Meteorological Agency. He predicted strong aftershocks measuring up to magnitude-6 would continue.

The worst damage occurred nearest the quake's epicenter, on Genkai island, where the shaking touched off landslides and leveled homes. About 120 Japanese troops flew to the tiny island just west of Kyushu to offer food and medical aid, and help evacuate more than 400 of the 850 residents to neighboring Kyushu.

In Fukuoka prefecture on Kyushu, 560 miles southwest of Tokyo, water and gas pipes burst, hundreds of homes reported power outages and landslides reportedly triggered a safety mechanism that halted local and bullet train service.

The tremors also set off landslides in parts of Saga and Nagasaki prefectures, public broadcaster NHK television reported.

A 75-year-old woman, who was hospitalized after a wall fell on her in Fukuoka city, had died, according to the Kyodo News agency.

At least 400, most in hardest-hit Fukuoka prefecture, were injured by the quake, NHK reported. Some were struck by toppling cabinets, items falling off shelves or shattered glass, and two were burned by a stove.

Authorities in Fukuoka confirmed 107 injuries, 15 serious, according to the prefectural government's Web site. Ten people in neighboring Saga prefecture were injured, a prefectural government official said.

In Saga prefecture's Okawa city, a 56-year-old man suffered broken bones after trying to jump to safety from the second floor of his home, NHK said. One person was reportedly rescued after being pinned inside a collapsed home.

"We have had frightened residents coming to the store because their own homes are shaking with every aftershock," said Shigeru Harada, a manager at a convenience store in Fukuoka city.

Located along the Pacific Ocean's seismically active "Ring of Fire," Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries.

It is also one of the best prepared for a major quake. Tough requirements making buildings quake-safe and frequent disaster drills likely kept injuries and structural damage to a minimum in Sunday's temblor.

Hundreds of residents in Fukuoka prefecture evacuated their homes to stay in temporary shelters for the evening.

A Fukuoka prefectural police spokesman said the initial jolt, which lasted about 30 seconds, made it difficult to stand.

NHK showed tall office buildings and street lamps in the center of Fukuoka shaking violently. In residential areas, cracks appeared in sidewalks and parts of retaining walls flaked off.

Kyushu Island is separated from South Korea (news - web sites) by a narrow strait of water, and the quake was felt about 130 miles away in South Korea's port city of Busan, where it briefly shook buildings. No damage was reported, a police spokesman in Busan said.

On Oct. 23, a magnitude-6.8 earthquake struck Niigata, about 160 miles northwest of Tokyo, killing 40 people and damaging more than 6,000 homes. The jolt was the deadliest to hit Japan since 1995, when a magnitude-7.3 quake killed 6,433 people in the western city of Kobe.

On Dec. 26, a magnitude-9.0 quake triggered a massive tsunami that devastated Asian and African coastlines in nearly a dozen nations, killing at least 175,000 people.

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Collapsed houses are seen on the island of Genkaijima in Fukuoka, southern Japan in this aerial view photo on March 20, 2005. A powerful magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit Japan's southernmost main island of Kyushu on Sunday, and a media report said a woman was killed and over 340 people injured in the tremor, which caused some houses to collapse and Photo by Kyodo/Reuters forced hundreds to flee their homes..

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=5&u=/ap/20050320/ap_on_re_as/japan_quake

http://www.voanews.com/vietnamese/2005-03-20-voa5.cfm

Yahoo! News Mon, Mar 6:30pm 28, 2005

Indonesian VP: Quake May Kill Up to 2,000

1 minute ago Top Stories - AP


By MICHAEL CASEY, Associated Press Writer

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia - A powerful earthquake struck off Indonesia's west coast late Monday, killing hundreds of people whose homes collapsed on them and spreading panic across the Indian Ocean that another killer tsunami was on the way. Indonesia's vice president predicted up to 2,000 deaths.


Fears of a second tsunami catastrophe in just over three months eased within hours, as officials in countries at risk reported their coasts clear of the type of earthquake-spawned waves that ravaged a dozen countries in Asia and Africa on Dec. 26.


Almost all the deaths reported after the 8.7-magnitude quake were on Indonesia's Nias island, a popular surfing spot off Sumatra island's west coast and close to the epicenter. Police were pulling children's' bodies out of the rubble of collapsed houses, and a fire was reportedly raging in one town.


"It is predicted — and it's still a rough estimate — that the numbers of dead may be between 1,000 and 2,000," Vice President Jusuf Kalla told the el-Shinta radio station, saying the estimate was based on an assessment of damage to buildings.


Two people were also killed in Sri Lanka during a panicky evacuation from the coast in a Tamil rebel-held area, authorities said.


The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake struck about 19 miles under the seabed, some 155 miles south-southeast of Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province on Sumatra island. It was centered just 110 miles southwest of December's 9.0-magnitude temblor — the world's most powerful in 40 years.


Monday's wallop, although very powerful, was but a fraction of the earlier quake. In explosive power, December's quake was equal to 100 million pounds of TNT; it caused the seabed to spring up as much as 60 feet.


Terrified of a disaster of equal proportions, sirens sounded throughout the region as authorities issued tsunami alerts for six countries after the quake struck at 11:06 p.m. as many people were sleeping.


Women clutching children ran into the darkened streets of Banda Aceh, crying and chanting "Allahu Akbar," or "God is Great." Others grabbed small bags of clothes and fled their tents and homes for higher ground.


Another man rushed instead to the local mosque, saying "Where can I go, you can't outrun a tsunami."


The quake lasted two minutes and briefly cut electricity in Banda Aceh. Thousands poured into the streets, where flickering campfires and motorbike and car headlights provided the only lighting.


People grabbed small bags of clothes as they fled their tents and homes. Many were crying and jumping into cars and onto motorbikes and pedicabs to head for higher ground. Two women wearing prayer shawls and sarongs grabbed a fence to steady themselves.


"People are still traumatized, still scared, they are running for higher ground," said Feri, a 24-year-old aid volunteer who goes by one name.


In Sri Lanka, warning sirens blared along the island nation's east coast and President Chandrika Kumaratunga urged people to evacuate immediately to higher ground.


"It was like reliving the same horror of three months ago," said Fatheena Faleel, who fled her home with her three children after seeing the warning on television.


In Malaysia, residents fled their shaking apartments and hotels.


"I was getting ready for bed, and suddenly, the room started shaking," said Jessie Chong, a resident of the largest city, Kuala Lumpur. "I thought I was hallucinating at first, but then I heard my neighbors screaming and running out."





The quake was felt as far away as Singapore and the Thai capital, Bangkok, more than 435 miles from the epicenter.

Nias island was badly hit on Dec. 26, when at least 340 residents were killed and 10,000 were left homeless.

The devastation there from Monday's quake appeared to be far worse.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said early Tuesday he would fly to the stricken island to assess the damage for himself.

In the town of Gunungsitoli, about 70 percent of buildings collapsed in the market district, officials said.

"Hundreds of buildings have been damaged or have collapsed," said Agus Mendrofa, the island's deputy district head. He told el-Shinta radio station that at least 296 people had died in Gunungsitoli.

The MISNA missionary news agency in Rome, Italy, reported that a huge fire was raging early Tuesday in Gunungsitoli.

"From the window I see very high flames," MISNA quoted Father Raymond Laia as saying by telephone about two miles from the town. "The town is completely destroyed. I repeat, the town is completely destroyed."

Another police officer, who identified himself as Nainggolan, said rescuers were trying to pull people out of the rubble, and that many were still panicking because of several aftershocks.

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http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=1&u=/ap/20050329/ap_on_re_as/indonesia_earthquake

AP Photo
Indonesia Quake Death Toll Stands at 330
(AP) - His brown eyes puffy and bloodshot, Datot Mendra prepares to spend the night lying next to his wife. Tomorrow, he will bury her, his sister and two other relatives. "What will I tell my children?" the 55-year-old restaurant owner says. "I can't face it. My faith in Jesus is helping me through this." Mendra's wife was among some 20 bodies wrapped in white sheets, candles flickering at their heads, laid out on the street outside the Santa Maria church in this town on Indonesia's predominantly Roman Catholic Nias Island

Yahoo! News Tue, Mar 29, 2005

http://story.news.yahoo.com/fc?cid=34&tmpl=fc&in=World&cat=Indonesia

Rescuers Race to Dig Out Indonesia Quake Survivors

Thu, Mar 6:45am 31, 2005

1 hour, 30 minutes ago World - Reuters

By Tomi Soetjipto and Dean Yates

GUNUNGSITOLI, Indonesia (Reuters) - Rescuers raced to pull survivors from collapsed buildings and deliver urgently needed food and water Thursday as strong aftershocks rattled earthquake-devastated islands in northern Indonesia.


Reuters Photo


AFP
Slideshow: Deadly Quake Hits Indonesian Island


Nearly three days after the huge quake, several people were pulled alive from the rubble of their homes, but they were greatly outnumbered by dead bodies and aid officials warned the toll could rise as rescuers reach remote areas.

French firefighters in worst-affected Nias island pulled a woman from the rubble of her home alive early in the morning, footage shot by Australia's Seven Network television showed.

"Hot, hot," the long-haired woman identified as Suri said after being pulled out. "My daughter and my sister are dead."

Rescuers also pulled an 11-year-old boy from the wreckage of a five-story building Thursday morning, his only injury a small cut on his toe.

Three or four international rescue teams, Singaporeans and volunteers from places such as Norway, along with hundreds of Indonesian troops are scouring the rubble looking for survivors.

As many as 2,000 people are feared to have died, many of them trapped under the rubble, according to Indonesian officials. A U.N. statement said some 500 were confirmed killed.

Several hundred people are reported to have died on the isolated Banyak island group just north of Nias. Simeulue island, also to the north of Nias, suffered widespread damage as well.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/quake_indonesia_dc

Strong Quake Hits Near Indonesian Island
1 hour, 22 minutes ago

Residents of Padang, on the island of Sumatra, head for higher ground after a magnitude 6.8 earthquake on April 10, 2005. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, or that the quake had actually caused a tsunami, officials in Jakarta said. Photo by Stringer/Indonesia/Reuters

Yahoo! News Sun, Apr 10, 2005
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