Tokyo (CNN) Yet another natural disaster has struck part of Japan, continuing a summer of chaos that has seen the country weather deadly floods, typhoons, earthquakes, landslides and heatwaves.
At least seven people were killed when a magnitude-6.7 quake struck the northern island of Hokkaido early Thursday, causing landslides which buried a large number of homes at the foot of a ridge.
Photo taken Sept. 6, 2018, from a Kyodo News airplane shows the site of a landslide in Atsuma, Hokkaido, northern Japan, triggered by an earthquake with preliminary magnitude of 6.7 that struck the region.
More than 150 people were injured by the quake, mostly in Sapporo, said Kazuya Isaki, an official with the Crisis Management Office of Hokkaido Prefecture Government. Dozens of people are missing in Atsuma, near the epicenter of the quake, where four of the deaths occurred.
Police search for missing persons around a house destroyed by a landslide after a powerful earthquake in Atsuma town, Hokkaido, northern Japan.
Public broadcaster NHK reported that flights and public transport across the region had been brought to a standstill
Nearly 3 million households lost power, according to the Hokkaido Electric Power Company. Officials said a main power station lost operations, affecting other sites. Independently owned power generators were assisting.
In this aerial image, houses are buried by multiple landslides after a powerful earthquake jolt on September 6, 2018 in Atsuma, Hokkaido, Japan.
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The Magnitude 6.7 quake struck 70 miles south of Sapporo on the island of Hokkaido shortly after 7pm BST (3am Thursday local time), according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). Local government officials are reporting that a 82-year-old man has died after falling down the stairs in his home during the earthquake, and have confirmed that three more people passed away following the devastating tremor. Another 33 people are still missing. But public broadcaster NHK said that six people were found in cardiopulmonary arrest, a term commonly used in Japan before death is formally confirmed, and authorities expect the death toll to further rise as rescuers searched houses buried by landslides.
A further 120 people were injured, with at least 10 being taken to hospital. Japanese TV showed damaged buildings and quoted police as saying some people had been trapped in collapsed structures. The tremor, which lasted for about 20 seconds, triggered a landslide which covered homes in the rural town of Atsuma trapping residents inside. Aerial footage showed scenes of devastation, with mounds of reddish earth and toppled trees piled up at the edge of green fields, and the collapsed remains of what appeared to be houses or barns could be seen scattered around. Other scenes from the southeastern part of Sapporo showed crumbled roads and mud flowing onto a main street. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said officials have set up a command center to coordinate rescue efforts.
There were dozens of landslides and significant damage in the Sapporo
The entire island lost power for the first time since Hokkaido Electric Power Co was created in 1951, as shortly after the tremor the utility conducted an emergency shutdown of all its fossil fuel-fired power plants. All trains acros the island were also halted. Scared residents took to Twitter to share testimonies of the terrrifying night. One Twitter user said: “Just woke up to a pretty damn big earthquake in Sapporo. "I've been through quite a few before and I'm shaking like a leaf right now. In fact, we're getting an aftershock right now…”
Japan earthquake: A powerful Magnitude 6.7 quake has struck near Sapporo
The quake knocked out power to Hokkaido's 5.3million residents
They are likely referring to the 5.4 magnitude aftershock which hit Hokkaido island shortly after the main earthquake. The tremor struck at an approximate depth of 25 miles, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). The epicenter was just 16 miles from the city of Chitose, home to Hokkaido's main airport. A Twitter user named Licia said: “My friends. We just had a major #earthquake here in Japan. #Hokkaido. #Sapporo. "We are in the dark, but otherwise fine. Omg! It was humongous. No information on magnitude. Internet still works for now.”
Houses were hit by landslides following the 6.7-magnitude quake
USGS said the earthquake is not expected to generate a tsunami based on its intensity, depth and historic tsunami records. Sapporo is the capital of Hokkaido prefecture with a population of nearly two million people. Kenji Yamamoto, an official in Noborito, told public broadcaster NHK there were no reports of injuries or death in that town. Japan sits in the "Ring of Fire" arc of volcanoes and oceanic trenches that partly encircles the Pacific Basin. The island nation accounts for around 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of Magnitude 6 or greater.
At least two people were killed and 38 were missing after the quake
Six of the deaths were in the village of Atsuma, National broadcaster NHK reported.
With swathes of the country further south recovering from Typhoon Jebi, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that 25,000 troops and other personnel were being dispatched to the area to help with rescue operations.
NHK showed the moment the quake struck the city of Muroran, with its camera violently shaking and all city lights going black moments later. In Sapporo, a mudslide on a road left several cars half buried.
Akira Fukui, from the main city of Sapporo, told AFP: "I woke up around 3am with a vertical jolt. I put the light on but it went out shortly afterwards. All the traffic lights are out and there's no power at work."
A powerful earthquake has hit Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido, causing a landslide that has engulfed houses.
Several people were reported injured and trapped in the rubble, while power in several areas was cut off, but there were no early reports of deaths.
The quake, which struck just after 3am on Thursday, had a magnitude of 6.7, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
The US Geological Survey earlier said it struck some 112 km southeast of Sapporo, a major metropolitan area of 1.9 million people.
An aftershock measuring 5.3 rocked the area a short while later.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, arriving at his office before 6 am, told reporters his government had set up a command centre to coordinate relief and rescue efforts.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Mr Abe instructed officials to find out the extent of damage and help those affected.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said the quake may have caused a small sea level change in coastal areas, but no tsunami was expected.
Japan is recovering from the worst typhoon to hit the country in 25 years, which struck the western part of the country on Tuesday, killing at least 11 and causing major damage to the region’s main airport.
Japan, which is situated on the “Ring of Fire” arc of volcanoes and oceanic trenches that partly encircles the Pacific Basin, accounts for about 20 per cent of the world’s earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.
Typhoon Jebi: Extremely strong winds and heavy rain hit Japan 20 show all Typhoon Jebi: Extremely strong winds and heavy rain hit Japan 1/20 Vehicles damaged in Osaka Reuters 2/20 High waves hit breakwaters at a port of Aki AP 3/20 A tanker is seen after it slammed into the side of a bridge connecting the airport to the mainland AP 4/20 People walk against strong winds in Nagoya AFP/Getty 5/20 Kansai International Airport AP 6/20 Damaged traffic boards and telecommunication relay poles are seen after they were brought down by strong winds caused by typhoon Jebi in Osaka AFP/Getty 7/20 A tanker ship smashed into a bridge connecting the city of Izumisano with Kansai airport Western Nippon Expressway/Jiji Press/AFP/Getty 8/20 The forecast track of of Typhoon Jebi Japan Meteorological Agency/AP 9/20 A man looks at a truck overturned AP 10/20 A truck sitting at an angle after being blown over by strong winds on the Seto Ohashi bridge in Sakade Kagawa Prefectural Police/Jiji Press/AFP/Getty 11/20 A woman holds broken umbrella as a powerful typhoon hits Osaka AP 12/20 AP 13/20 Boats float along with debris during Typhoon Jebi in Nishinomiya City Reuters 14/20 Police officers attempt to remove fallen trees AP 15/20 A tanker after it slammed into the side of the bridge connecting the airport to the mainland AP 16/20 Documents are spread under desks after windows broke at Gifu Prefectural Government in Gifu EPA 17/20 A police officer stands beside a flooded road AP 18/20 A tree damaged by Typhoon Jebi in front of Heian Shrine in Kyoto Reuters 19/20 Damaged vehicles blown by strong winds AFP/Getty 20/20 A building damaged by Typhoon Jebi in Osaka Reuters 1/20 Vehicles damaged in Osaka Reuters 2/20 High waves hit breakwaters at a port of Aki AP 3/20 A tanker is seen after it slammed into the side of a bridge connecting the airport to the mainland AP 4/20 People walk against strong winds in Nagoya AFP/Getty 5/20 Kansai International Airport AP 6/20 Damaged traffic boards and telecommunication relay poles are seen after they were brought down by strong winds caused by typhoon Jebi in Osaka AFP/Getty 7/20 A tanker ship smashed into a bridge connecting the city of Izumisano with Kansai airport Western Nippon Expressway/Jiji Press/AFP/Getty 8/20 The forecast track of of Typhoon Jebi Japan Meteorological Agency/AP 9/20 A man looks at a truck overturned AP 10/20 A truck sitting at an angle after being blown over by strong winds on the Seto Ohashi bridge in Sakade Kagawa Prefectural Police/Jiji Press/AFP/Getty 11/20 A woman holds broken umbrella as a powerful typhoon hits Osaka AP 12/20 AP 13/20 Boats float along with debris during Typhoon Jebi in Nishinomiya City Reuters 14/20 Police officers attempt to remove fallen trees AP 15/20 A tanker after it slammed into the side of the bridge connecting the airport to the mainland AP 16/20 Documents are spread under desks after windows broke at Gifu Prefectural Government in Gifu EPA 17/20 A police officer stands beside a flooded road AP 18/20 A tree damaged by Typhoon Jebi in front of Heian Shrine in Kyoto Reuters 19/20 Damaged vehicles blown by strong winds AFP/Getty 20/20 A building damaged by Typhoon Jebi in Osaka Reuters
On March 11, 2011, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, the most powerful ever recorded in Japan, struck under the ocean off the coast of the northern city of Sendai. The quake set off a series of massive tsunami that devastated a wide swathe of the Pacific coastline and killed nearly 20,000.
Saturday marked the 95th anniversary of the Great Kanto earthquake, which had a magnitude of 7.9 and killed more than 140,000 people in the Tokyo area. Seismologists have said another such quake could strike the city at any time.
Reuters contributed to this report
